factoid

[ fak-toid ]

/ ˈfæk tɔɪd /

noun

an insignificant or trivial fact.

something fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact, devised especially to gain publicity and accepted because of constant repetition.

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My test scores were in the top five fictile!

She scrounged every market for fictile treasures.

Her speech was full of fictile statements.

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Words nearby factoid

factious, factitious, factitious disorder, factitive, factive, factoid, factor, factor analysis, factor cost, factor group, factor i

Origin of factoid

First recorded in 1973; fact + -oid

OTHER WORDS FROM factoid

fac·toi·dal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for factoid

Though it does note that she has a tattoo—and that factoid is helpfully paired with the phrase “tough as nails.”
Leave Jill Abramson Alone, You Sexists|Tricia Romano|April 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And by consumer and supplier agreement, no fact, factoid, or truthiness is too small to register.
Can the Heart and Blood-Pressure Pill Propranolol Cure Racism?|Kent Sepkowitz|March 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
McCarthy contributes the factoid, “We have four million more government jobs in America than manufacturing jobs.”
Paul Ryan Breaks Rank|John Batchelor|September 26, 2010|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for factoid

factoid

/ (ˈfæktɔɪd) /

noun

a piece of unreliable information believed to be true because of the way it is presented or repeated in print

Word Origin for factoid

C20 (coined by Norman Mailer): from fact + -oid

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012