- fact
- nounADJECTIVE▪ important, interesting, relevant, salient▪
You must look at all the relevant facts.
▪ basic, simple▪ cold, concrete, hard, incontrovertible, inescapable, observable, obvious, plain, straightforward, true, undeniable▪The police have to support their case with hard facts.
▪These are all incontrovertible facts.
▪ bare, disturbing, harsh, sad, stark, unpalatable (esp. BrE), unpleasant▪the bare facts of war
▪a rather harsh fact of life
▪ known▪The known facts of the case are as follows.
▪ little-known, well-known▪It is a well-known fact that girls do better than boys at school.
▪ proven▪ historical, scientific▪ mere▪The mere fact of your being there will arouse their suspicions.
VERB + FACT▪ be aware of, have, know▪We don't have all the facts yet.
▪She already knew the facts she needed.
▪ ascertain, establish, find out▪the best way of establishing the facts
▪ check, consider, examine, look at▪I think you need to check your facts.
▪For God's sake, look at the facts!
▪ prove▪These facts have not yet been proved.
▪ collect, gather▪ select▪Historians must first select the facts that they present.
▪ give, present, report, state▪The job of the teacher is not simply to impart facts.
▪I'm not making excuses—I'm just stating a fact.
▪ interpret▪different ways of interpreting the facts
▪ account for, explain▪How do you account for the fact that unemployment is still rising?
▪ accept, acknowledge, appreciate, face, recognize▪She wouldn't accept the fact that she had lost.
▪I appreciate the fact that you're under a lot of pressure at the moment.
▪I'm afraid you'll have to face facts. She'll never marry you.
▪ grasp▪He doesn't seem able to grasp this basic fact.
▪ learn▪ deny, dispute▪No one can deny this fact.
▪ forget, ignore, overlook▪This approach ignores the fact that people, not computers, commit crimes.
▪ be oblivious to▪ conceal, disguise, hide▪If he was bored, he managed to hide the fact very well.
▪ obscure▪The recent improvements should not obscure the fact that general standards are still far too low.
▪ change▪This does not change the fact that a crime has been committed.
▪ draw attention to▪The report draws attention to the fact that the country is now a net exporter of the product.
▪ emphasize, highlight, underline (esp. BrE), underscore (esp. AmE)▪ confine sb/yourself to (esp. BrE), stick to▪Just stick to the facts.
▪ be based on▪a novel based on historical fact
▪ reflect▪Prices reflect the fact that the company is aiming at the luxury market.
▪ stem from▪He knew their bitterness stemmed from the fact that he was in charge.
▪ be explained by, be supported by▪ be complicated by, be compounded by, be exacerbated by▪The problem was compounded by the fact that I had no idea what I was looking for.
▪ hate, lament, regret, resent▪We waited miserably, lamenting the fact that our suitcases had been put on the wrong plane.
▪She resented the fact that I had more freedom than her.
FACT + VERB▪ remain▪The fact remains that we are still two teachers short.
PREPOSITION▪ after the fact▪On some vital decisions employees were only informed after the fact (= when it was too late to change them).
▪ apart from the fact▪She was happy, apart from the fact that she could not return home.
▪ despite the fact, in spite of the fact, notwithstanding the fact▪He got the job, despite the fact that he has no experience.
▪ due to the fact▪Due to the fact that they did not read English, the prisoners were unaware of what they were signing.
▪ given the fact▪The findings are not surprising, given the facts: …
▪ in fact▪I used to live in France; in fact, not far from where you're going.
▪ fact about▪We learned several interesting facts about elephants.
PHRASES▪ (as) a matter of fact▪It's not wild speculation! It's a plain matter of fact.
▪‘I suppose you'll be leaving soon, then?’ ‘No, as a matter of fact I'll be staying for another two years.’
▪ facts and figures▪All the facts and figures were presented at the meeting.
▪ the fact of the matter▪A new car would be wonderful but the fact of the matter is that we can't afford one.
▪ the facts of the case▪The facts of the case are quite straightforward.
▪ a fact of life (= a situation that cannot be changed)▪It is an sad fact of life that the most deserving people do not often achieve the most success.
▪ the facts of life (= the details about sex and how babies are born, esp. as told to children)▪ fact or fiction?▪The Loch Ness Monster: fact or fiction?
▪ the facts speak for themselves (= further explanation about sth is unnecessary because the facts prove it is true)▪ get your facts right, get your facts straight, get your facts wrong▪If you're going to make accusations, you'd better get your facts right.
▪ have the facts at your fingertips▪When making your presentation, it is important to have all the facts at your fingertips (= to have the information you need and be able to find it and use it quickly).
▪ in actual fact, in point of fact▪I thought the work would be difficult. In actual fact, it's very easy.
▪ in view of the fact that …▪Voluntary work was particularly important in view of the fact that women were often forced to give up paid work on marriage.
▪ know for a fact▪Do you know for a fact that he is in London?
▪ not to mention the fact that …▪It's very hard to do this on a home computer. Not to mention the fact that it's actually illegal.
▪ a question of fact, a statement of fact▪It's a simple statement of fact.
▪ a recognition of the fact that …▪a growing recognition of the fact that learning may take different forms
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
