wikiality

W4I1K5I1A1L1I1T1Y4

noun

The supposed reality described by Wikipedia articles, whose content is established by majority consensus.

Scrabble 19

Meanings

wikiality1

nounwikiality (usually uncountable, plural wikialities)

plural wikialities · alternative Wikiality

  1. derogatoryuncountableusuallyThe supposed reality described by Wikipedia articles, whose content is established by majority consensus.

    Yet, this is the wikiality("truth based on consensus rather than fact") of the world, I'm sorry, of America, today

    2007 January 5, Matt Martin, “Are we best we can be?”, in The Lantern
    3 more examples

    A group of undergraduates and alumni combated the backlash of "wikiality" and put their own spin on the facts about Cornell in an article about the University on the Web site Wikipedia.

    2006 September 20, Felicia Daniels, “Wikipedia selects Cornell U. page as 'Featured Article'”, in University Wire

    Most important, here, Colbert calls attention to the Bush administration's cooption of wikiality: its continuous campaign to manipulate public perception.

    2009, Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey P. Jones, Ethan Thompson, Satire TV: politics and comedy in the post-network era, NYU Press, →ISBN

    Back in 2006, comedian Stephen Colbert did a bit about Wikipedia, saying it was the harbinger of a distorted form of reality called “Wikiality” […] Fast forward to 2025 and it seems that Wikipedia might be the antidote to “alternative facts”, with lessons not just for the web, but for society more broadly.

    [2025 October 27, David Shariatmadari, “‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Wikiality2

nounWikiality (usually uncountable, plural Wikialities)

plural Wikialities

  1. uncountableusuallyAlternative letter-case form of wikiality

Origin

  1. Proto-Polynesian*witi
  2. Hawaiianwiki
  3. Hawaiianwikiwiki
  4. Proto-Indo-European*webʰ-
  5. Proto-Germanic*webaną
  6. Proto-Germanic*wabją
  7. Old Englishwebb
  8. Middle Englishweb
  9. Englishweb
  10. EnglishWikiWikiWebclip.
  11. Englishwiki
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  13. Ancient Greekἐν (en)
  14. Ancient Greekἐν- (en-)
  15. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  16. Proto-Indo-European*kʷékʷlos
  17. Proto-Hellenic*kʷókʷlos
  18. Proto-Hellenic*kúklos
  19. Ancient Greekκύκλος (kúklos)
  20. Ancient Greekἐγκύκλῐος (enkúklĭos)
  21. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂w-
  22. Proto-Hellenic*pā́wits
  23. Ancient Greekπαῖς (paîs)
  24. Ancient Greekπαιδεύω (paideúō)
  25. Ancient Greekπαιδείᾱ (paideíā)
  26. Ancient Greekἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā)
  27. New Latinencyclopaedīa
  28. Englishencyclopedia
  29. EnglishWikipedia
  30. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁-
  31. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁ís
  32. Proto-Italic*reis
  33. Classical Latinrēs
  34. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  35. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  36. Latinreālis
  37. Medieval Latinreālitā
  38. Frenchréalité
  39. Englishreality
  40. Englishwikiality

Blend of Wikipedia + reality, coined by American comedian and writer Stephen Colbert on 31 July 2006 on his show The Colbert Report.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wikiality

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

wikiality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wikiality

MLA

“wikiality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wikiality. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wikiality,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wikiality.

Source: wikiality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.