factualism

[ fak-choo-uh-liz-uhm ]

noun

1. emphasis on, devotion to, or extensive reliance upon facts:

   the factualism of scientific experiment.

Other Words From

• factu·al·ist noun
• factu·al·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of factualism¹

First recorded in 1945–50; factual + -ism

Example Sentences

“It’s when they can combine that you get something fertile and living and leading forward. Mysticism—which is a word my father held in contempt, basically—and scientific factualism, need for evidence, and so on . . . I do try to juggle them, quite consciously.”

From The New Yorker

Factualism used to be an occasion for mockery.

From Newsweek

A more mild solution: fight factualism.

From Newsweek

Man seeks escape from pressures of another kind�the weight of desiccating factualism and the steel girders of civilization which he has built around him to shut out the night and the enemy, nature.

From Time Magazine Archive

The eleven articles would take few prizes for good writing, but their unemotional factualism and scope made them an impressive job of reporting.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• accuracy
• authenticity
• certainty
• fact
• legitimacy
• principle
• truthfulness
• veracity