Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
An inaccurate statement or statistic believed to be true because of broad repetition, especially if cited in the media.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: misconception
Antonyms: none provided
noun
An interesting item of trivia; a minor fact.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: factlet
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a brief (usually one sentence and usually trivial) news item
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: news item
noun
something resembling a fact; unverified (often invented) information that is given credibility because it appeared in print
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: information, info
History
From fact + -oid (“similar, but not the same”); coined by American writer Norman Mailer in 1973 in Marilyn: A Biography, defined as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority".
Across languages
10 source translations are retained for this English entry.
