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Crossword clues for matter-of-fact

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
matter-of-fact
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
matter-of-fact (=showing no emotion when what you are saying is exciting, frightening, upsetting, etc )
▪ His tone was matter-of-fact, but she noticed he was shaking.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
tone
▪ Arthur Ransome illustrates how a matter-of-fact tone can match the no-nonsense approach of children; and so on.
voice
▪ He picked up the sheet of paper and began to read in a slow, matter-of-fact voice.
▪ He spoke it all in a very matter-of-fact voice.
▪ About D and M, in a bright little matter-of-fact voice.
way
▪ Nevertheless, it was independently undertaken, in a very matter-of-fact way, to assist a respected superior in coping.
▪ When pressed he would explain the secret of his success, in a shy, matter-of-fact way.
▪ She'd confront him in a matter-of-fact way.
▪ There cancer is not feared and dreaded, but is treated in a matter-of-fact way as an everyday occurrence.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A spokesman listed the casualties in a detached, matter-of-fact tone of voice.
▪ She spoke of death in a calm, matter-of-fact way.
▪ The condom advertising campaign is going to be very straightforward and as matter-of-fact as possible.
▪ We were surprised at the matter-of-fact way Judith described her husband's death.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But even in the most matter-of-fact and determined plans there was always an element of unreality.
▪ He was also more than a little scandalised at the girl's matter-of-fact acceptance of what had happened.
▪ It was matter-of-fact, the way some one might say it looks like rain.
▪ There cancer is not feared and dreaded, but is treated in a matter-of-fact way as an everyday occurrence.
▪ There was something practical, matter-of-fact about the boy.
▪ This may be by way of theory, or on more matter-of-fact lines about technique or such questions as composition.
▪ When pressed he would explain the secret of his success, in a shy, matter-of-fact way.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Matter-of-fact

Matter-of-fact \Mat"ter-of-fact"\, a. Adhering to facts; not turning aside from absolute realities; not fanciful or imaginative; commonplace; dry.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
matter-of-fact

also matter of fact, 1570s as a noun, originally a legal term (translating Latin res facti), "that portion of an enquiry concerned with the truth or falsehood of alleged facts," opposed to matter of law. As an adjective from 1712. Meaning "prosaic, unimaginative" is from 1787. Related: Matter-of-factly; matter-of-factness. German Tatsache is said to be a loan-translation of the English word.

Wiktionary
matter-of-fact

a. 1 of, or relating to facts only; literal, realistic 2 lacking emotion or colour

WordNet
matter-of-fact
  1. adj. not fanciful or imaginative; "local guides describe the history of various places in matter-of-fact tones"; "a prosaic and unimaginative essay" [syn: prosaic]

  2. concerned with practical matters; "a matter-of-fact (or pragmatic) approach to the problem"; "a matter-of-fact account of the trip" [syn: pragmatic, pragmatical]

Usage examples of "matter-of-fact".

My survival training with Babington should have inured me to such sights, but until now I had not really believed that the matter-of-fact savagery of African bionomics would prevail in my objectified dream world.

The place where, according to Abuela, what passed as folktales in their world were no more than matter-of-fact occurrences.

He pointed out that Captain Grant, on leaving the coast of Peru to return to Europe, might have been carried away with his disabled ship by the southern currents of the Pacific right to the shores of Australia, and his hypotheses were so ingenious and his deductions so subtle that even the matter-of-fact John Mangles, a difficult judge, and most unlikely to be led away by any flights of imagination, was completely satisfied.

The expression of calculation in his eyes, adding up pieces of information that had nothing to do with Rudy or with maintaining a role, troubled Rudy with a disquieting sense that the old man was too calm about it, too matter-of-fact.

He spoke in a quiet, almost matter-of-fact tone that somehow underscored the horror of his news, and he was staring straight into her shocked eyes.

When reading some of his descriptions of men and manners in those old chivalric times, I feel that I have been born some centuries too late--in our time everything is so matter-of-fact, and the men are so prosaic.

The matter-of-fact Confucius found it sour, the Buddha called it bitter, and Laotse pronounced it sweet.

Caralie was relieved that Riley's gaze held no intimate secrets, nothing but a matter-of-fact ness that eased her concerns.

While she found Sally's matter-of-fact account of her life difficult to follow, with its references to places and things she didn't know, it was easy to imagine her winning the sudden, flick-of-the-wrist victories expected of bishonen .

While she found Sally's matter-of-fact account of her life difficult to follow, with its references to places and things she didn't know, it was easy to imagine her winning the sudden, flick-of-the-wrist victories expected of bishonen.

Snapper said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, like all his customers had seven grand lying around in cookie jars.

He put him in charge of all current affairs, with brief instructions, and bade good-by in a friendly and matter-of-fact way, as he would ordinarily have done before departing on a brief official journey.

He was just talking in a matter-of-fact way, but Elder Niece Kee saw dollar signs.

Catlin's tone was matter-of-fact again, holding none of the complex emotions that had enthralled her and made her forget where she was and who he was.

In an attempt to re-establish his own intellectual conceit, Hugh expounded the theories of the younger scientists, the strictly matter-of-fact, hard-boiled realism which rejected all religious interpretation and took the Ship as it was.