'Matter of fact' definitions:
Definition of 'matter of fact'
(from WordNet)
noun
A disputed factual contention that is generally left for a jury to decide [syn: question of fact, matter of fact]
noun
A matter that is an actual fact or is demonstrable as a fact
Definition of 'Matter of fact'
From: GCIDE
- Matter \Mat"ter\, n. [OE. matere, F. mati[`e]re, fr. L. materia; perh. akin to L. mater mother. Cf. Mother, Madeira, Material.]
- 1. That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment. [1913 Webster]
- He is the matter of virtue. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
- 2. That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance. [1913 Webster]
- Note: Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid, liquid, and gaseous. Solid substances are those whose parts firmly cohere and resist impression, as wood or stone. Liquids have free motion among their parts, and easily yield to impression, as water and wine. Gaseous substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases, as air and oxygen gas. [1913 Webster]
- 3. That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme. "If the matter should be tried by duel." --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- Son of God, Savior of men! Thy name Shall be the copious matter of my song. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. --Ex. xviii. 22. [1913 Webster]
- 4. That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business. [1913 Webster]
- To help the matter, the alchemists call in many vanities out of astrology. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- Some young female seems to have carried matters so far, that she is ripe for asking advice. --Spectator. [1913 Webster]
- 5. Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter? no matter, and the like. [1913 Webster]
- A prophet some, and some a poet, cry; No matter which, so neither of them lie. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 6. Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble. [1913 Webster]
- And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 7. Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite. [1913 Webster]
- Away he goes, . . . a matter of seven miles. --L' Estrange. [1913 Webster]
- I have thoughts to tarry a small matter. --Congreve. [1913 Webster]
- No small matter of British forces were commanded over sea the year before. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 8. Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance. [1913 Webster]
- 9. (Metaph.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form. --Mansel. [1913 Webster]
- 10. (Print.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing. [1913 Webster]
- Dead matter (Print.), type which has been used, or which is not to be used, in printing, and is ready for distribution.
- Live matter (Print.), type set up, but not yet printed from.
- Matter in bar, Matter of fact. See under Bar, and Fact.
- Matter of record, anything recorded.
- Upon the matter, or Upon the whole matter, considering the whole; taking all things into view; all things considered. [1913 Webster]
- Waller, with Sir William Balfour, exceeded in horse, but were, upon the whole matter, equal in foot. --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Matter of fact'
From: GCIDE
- Fact \Fact\ (f[a^]kt), n. [L. factum, fr. facere to make or do. Cf. Feat, Affair, Benefit, Defect, Fashion, and -fy.]
- 1. A doing, making, or preparing. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- A project for the fact and vending Of a new kind of fucus, paint for ladies. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
- 2. An effect produced or achieved; anything done or that comes to pass; an act; an event; a circumstance. [1913 Webster]
- What might instigate him to this devilish fact, I am not able to conjecture. --Evelyn. [1913 Webster]
- He who most excels in fact of arms. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Reality; actuality; truth; as, he, in fact, excelled all the rest; the fact is, he was beaten. [1913 Webster]
- 4. The assertion or statement of a thing done or existing; sometimes, even when false, improperly put, by a transfer of meaning, for the thing done, or supposed to be done; a thing supposed or asserted to be done; as, history abounds with false facts. [1913 Webster]
- I do not grant the fact. --De Foe. [1913 Webster]
- This reasoning is founded upon a fact which is not true. --Roger Long. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The term fact has in jurisprudence peculiar uses in contrast with law; as, attorney at law, and attorney in fact; issue in law, and issue in fact. There is also a grand distinction between law and fact with reference to the province of the judge and that of the jury, the latter generally determining the fact, the former the law. --Burrill --Bouvier. [1913 Webster]
- Accessary before the fact, or Accessary after the fact. See under Accessary.
- Matter of fact, an actual occurrence; a verity; used adjectively: of or pertaining to facts; prosaic; unimaginative; as, a matter-of-fact narration.
- Syn: Act; deed; performance; event; incident; occurrence; circumstance. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'matter of fact'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- absolute fact,
- accepted fact,
- actual fact,
- admitted fact,
- adventure,
- axiom,
- bald fact,
- bare fact,
- brutal fact,
- circumstance,
- cold fact,
- conceded fact,
- datum,
- demonstrable fact,
- empirical fact,
- episode,
- established fact,
- event,
- experience,
- fact,
- fact of experience,
- given fact,
- hap,
- happening,
- happenstance,
- hard fact,
- incident,
- indisputable fact,
- inescapable fact,
- matter-of-factness,
- naked fact,
- not guesswork,
- not opinion,
- occasion,
- occurrence,
- particular,
- phenomenon,
- plain,
- plainness,
- positive fact,
- postulate,
- prosaicism,
- prosaicness,
- prosaism,
- prose,
- prosiness,
- provable fact,
- reality,
- salient fact,
- self-evident fact,
- significant fact,
- simple fact,
- sober fact,
- stubborn fact,
- the case,
- the nitty-gritty,
- turn of events,
- undeniable fact,
- unimaginativeness,
- well-known fact