factoid
noun
Did you know?
Did you know that Norman Mailer coined the word factoid?
In his 1973 book Marilyn (about Marilyn Monroe), Norman Mailer describes factoids as "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
Bryan West, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
The perfect, humanizing factoid to draw chuckles from reporters and likes on social media.
—Cody Stavenhagen, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
However easy that is to explain away, that factoid remains kind of interesting.
—Clem Chambers, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
That factoid is soon made very, very clear; the slide and the ball pit are also red, as is the huge sectional at the center of the family room, the chandelier above, the velvet ropes that partition the area, the dramatically swooping drapes, and the nearby pair of ginormous bean bags.
—Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 7 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for factoid
Cite this Entry
“Factoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/factoid. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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factoid
noun
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