factive

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

fact +‎ -ive

AdjectiveEdit

Examples
  • Lord Kelvin did not reveal that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible; he mistakenly believed it.
    The verb reveal is factive.
  • Lord Kelvin revealed that he considered heavier-than-air flying machines to be impossible.
    The object of the factive verb reveal, in this case, is a true statement about his mistaken belief.

factive (not comparable)

  1. (grammar, of a verb) Licensing only those content clauses that represent claims assumed to be true.
  2. (epistemology, of a knowing agent) Which does not know any falsities: which knows only truths.
Derived termsEdit

NounEdit

factive (plural factives)

  1. (grammar) A factive verb.

Etymology 2Edit

Latin facere (to make).

AdjectiveEdit

factive (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Making.