different between situation vs fact

English

Alternative forms

• scituation (hyper?correct, obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English situacioun, situacion, from Middle French situation, from Medieval Latin situatio (“position, situation”), from situare (“to locate, place”), from Latin situs (“a site”). Equivalent to situate +? -ion

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?t-yo?o-?'sh?n, s?ch-o?o-?'sh?n, IPA^(key): /s?tju??e???n/, /s?t?u?(w)e???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

situation (plural situations)

1. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.
2. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:

     ...he being naturally an underground animal by birth and breeding, the situation of Badger's house exactly suited him and made him feel at home; while the Rat, who slept every night in a bedroom the windows of which opened on a breezy river, naturally felt the atmosphere still and oppressive.

3. The place in which something is situated; a location.
   • 1833, Thomas Hibbert and Robert Buist, The American Flower Garden Directory, page 142:

     [Hibíscus] speciòsus is the most splendid, and deserves a situation in every garden.

4. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
5. (Britain) A position of employment; a post.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, page 78:

     When he was nineteen, he suddenly left the 'Co-op' office, and got a situation in Nottingham.

   • 1946, Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milt Gabler, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie:

     You take a morning paper from the top of the stack

     And read the situations from the front to the back

     The only job that's open need a man with a knack

     So put it right back in the rack Jack.

6. A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.

   Boss, we've got a situation here...

Synonyms

• (combination of circumstances): condition, set up; see also Thesaurus:state

Related terms

• site
• situate
• situated
• situationism

Translations

See also

• situation comedy, sitcom

References

• Source for the definitions:
  • Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. [1] (accessed: March 10, 2007).
• situation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• situation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• situation at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• titanious

French

Etymology

situer +? -ation

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.t?a.sj??/

Noun

situation f (plural situations)

1. situation (all meanings)

Derived terms

• mise en situation
• situation intéressante

Descendants

• ? Romanian: situa?ie

Further reading

• “situation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Interlingua

Noun

situation (plural situationes)

1. situation, state of affairs

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s?tva??u?n/, /s?t?a??u?n/

Noun

situation c

1. a situation

Declension

Synonyms

• läge

Related terms

• nödsituation
• situationskomik

English

Etymology

From Latin factum (“a deed, act, exploit; in Medieval Latin also state, condition, circumstance”), neuter of factus (“done or made”), perfect passive participle of faci? (“do, make”). Doublet of feat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Noun

fact (countable and uncountable, plural facts)

1. Something actual as opposed to invented.
2. Something which is real.

   Gravity is a fact, not a theory.

3. Something concrete used as a basis for further interpretation.

4. An objective consensus on a fundamental reality that has been agreed upon by a substantial number of experts.

5. Information about a particular subject, especially actual conditions and/or circumstances.

6. (databases) An individual value or measurement at the lowest level of granularity in a data warehouse.
7. (archaic) Action; the realm of action.
8. (law, obsolete except in set phrases) A wrongful or criminal deed.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ix:

     She was empassiond at that piteous act, / With zelous enuy of Greekes cruell fact, / Against that nation [...].

9. (obsolete) A feat or meritorious deed.

Antonyms

• (Something actual): fiction

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• value
• opinion
• belief

References

• fact at OneLook Dictionary Search
• fact in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• fact in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• "Conway: 'Alternative Facts'" Merriam-Webster's Trend Watch Merriam-Webster. 2017.

Interjection

fact

1. Used before making a statement to introduce it as a trustworthy one.

Anagrams

• acft