factoid

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“
Another scary factoid, she thought, that he regarded himself as "larczz," like one of those bulgy-faced robots on _Star Trek_, the reruns of a show he never missed.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition: "What one misses finally is what might have emerged beyond both facts and factoids—a profound definition of the Marilyn Monroe phenomenon” (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt).
  2. noun Usage Problem A brief, somewhat interesting fact.
  3. usage note
    The -oid suffix normally imparts the meaning "resembling, having the appearance of” to the words it attaches to. Thus the anthropoid apes are the apes that are most like humans (from Greek anthrōpos, "human being”). In some words -oid has a slightly extended meaning—"having characteristics of, but not the same as,” as in humanoid, a being that has human characteristics but is not really human. Similarly, factoid originally referred to a piece of information that appears to be reliable or accurate, as from being repeated so often that people assume it is true. The word still has this meaning in standard usage. Seventy-three percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence It would be easy to condemn the book as a concession to the television age, as a McLuhanish melange of pictures and factoids which give the illusion of learning without the substance. · Factoid has since developed a second meaning, that of a brief, somewhat interesting fact, that might better have been called a factette. The Panelists have less enthusiasm for this usage, however, perhaps because they believe it to be confusing. Only 43 percent of the panel accepts it in Each issue of the magazine begins with a list of factoids, like how many pounds of hamburger were consumed in Texas last month. Many Panelists prefer terms such as statistics, trivia, useless facts, and just plain facts in this sentence.

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Examples

  • His ambition was to some day be a bowler on the pro tour (and if his father had known this little factoid, he also would have hit the roof). —  The Waste Lands
  • Another scary factoid, she thought, that he regarded himself as "larczz," like one of those bulgy-faced robots on _Star Trek_, the reruns of a show he never missed. —  Beard
  • This factoid will be a double thumb in the eye for the gang in Washington now trying to figure out how to re-regulate the greedy little mothers and fathers of our economy. —  The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com
  • But I didn't like it. —  The Magic of Recluce
  • The sky was pale blue. —  Ensign Flandry
 

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Factoid has been looked up 203 times, favorited once, listed 17 times, and commented on once.

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