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general::
noun ADJ. important, interesting, relevant, salient looking at all the relevant facts | basic | 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, brute, disturbing, harsh, sad, stark, unpalatable, unpleasant the bare facts of war a rather harsh fact of life | little-known, well-known It is a well-known fact that girls do better than boys at school. | mere The mere fact of your being there will arouse their suspicions. | historical VERB + FACT be aware of, have, know We haven't got all the facts yet. She already knew the facts she needed. | ascertain, establish, find out the best way of establishing the facts | check, 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, impart, present, 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, face, recognize She wouldn't accept the fact that she had lost. 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 | assimilate Students need time to assimilate the facts. | deny, dispute No one can deny this fact. | 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. | draw attention to The report draws attention to the fact that the country is now a net exporter of the product. | emphasize, underline | confine yourself to, keep to, 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 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?only ‘some sort of clue’. | lament, regret, resent We sat miserably in the pub, lamenting the fact that our dry clothes were a 60-mile bus journey away. She resented the fact that I was older and had more freedom than her. FACT + VERB remain The fact remains that we are still two teachers short. PREP. after the ~ On some vital decisions employees were only informed after the fact (= when it was too late to change them). | apart from the ~ She was happy, apart from the fact that she could not return home. | despite/in spite of/notwithstanding the ~ She's taking her children on holiday, despite the fact that school starts tomorrow. | due to the ~ Due to the fact that they did not read English, the prisoners were unaware of what they were signing. | given the ~ The findings are not surprising, given the facts: … | in ~ I used to live in France; in fact, not far from where you're going. | ~ about We learned several interesting facts about elephants. PHRASES (as) a matter of fact It's not wild speculation! It's 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 presenting all the facts and figures to 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 unpalatable fact of life that the most deserving people do no | the facts of life (= the details about sex and how babies are born, especially 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/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? | a question/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