NYT Dictionary

FACTUAL

/ˈfæk.tʃ(u)əl/

AdjectiveNounFAC-tu-alfac-tu-al · 3 syllablesGrade 5

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025

Meaning

Pertaining to or consisting of objective claims.

Origin: Unknown

From fact + -ual, modeled after, and by analogy with, actual.

actualabsoluteadmissibleascertainedattestedauthenticauthenticatedauthoritativeaxiomaticcertain

unfactualnonfactualopinionatedsubjectivebiasedcounterfactualcontrafactualantifactualpost-factualextra-factual

Accepted in 2 recorded puzzles: