factoid

noun

fac·toid ˈfak-ˌtȯid

Synonyms of factoid next

: an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print

: a briefly stated and usually trivial fact

Did you know?

Did you know that Norman Mailer coined the word factoid?

We can thank Norman Mailer for factoid: he used the word in his 1973 book Marilyn (about Marilyn Monroe), and he is believed to be the coiner of the word. In the book, he explains that factoids are "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." Mailer's use of the -oid suffix (which traces back to the ancient Greek word eidos, meaning "appearance" or "form") follows in the pattern of humanoid: just as a humanoid appears to be human but is not, a factoid appears to be factual but is not. The word has since evolved so that now it most often refers to things that decidedly are facts, just not ones that are significant.

Examples of factoid in a Sentence

The book is really just a collection of interesting factoids.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Yet readers will still find factoids that surprise: Scientists hypothesize that the moon coaxed prehistoric marine life to colonize land, for example. —

Joe Spring, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024 See Jayson’s full piece for more, which includes plenty of other interesting baseball time-travel factoids. —

Chris Branch, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024 Fun factoid: The original plot of the operetta Babes in Toyland was about two children who flee from their wicked Uncle Barnaby and journey to Toyland. —

Marc Berman, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024 Here are some Fifth Avenue factoids provided by the association: Since 2023, there have been more than 10 commercial real estate transactions on Fifth Avenue, totaling $3.9 billion. —

David Moin, WWD, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for factoid