✅ Implies truth ✅ Truth-implying word

factive

9.9

A word, often a verb, that shows the statement after it is true

noun
/ˈfæktɪv/

Specialized

: factivas

The verb 'know' is a common factive because it implies the truth of what follows.

Examples

Linguists often analyze whether a verb is a factive or not in complex sentences.
In the exam, students had to identify each factive in the given text.
In linguistics, factive verbs require a true complement.
The sentence uses a factive verb to express certainty.
The verb 'know' is a common factive because it implies the truth of what follows.
In the exam, students had to identify each factive in the given text.
Linguists often analyze whether a verb is a factive or not in complex sentences.

Surface Forms

factive singular

factives plural

Morphology

factive = factive (semi-transparent) = fact + ive

The form is built from fact + -ive, but the noun use is a specialized linguistic label and the nominal meaning is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Factive (as a noun) comes from the same root as fact, and from facere meaning 'to make'. So a factive is a word that 'makes' the next statement into a fact by implying it is true.