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X factor

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also:x factor,X-factor,andx-factor

EnglishWikipedia has an article on:

X Factor (disambiguation)

Wikipedia

X factor (pluralX factors)

(idiomatic) An unknown or hard-to-define influence; afactor with unknown or unforeseeable consequences.
- 1992, Lia Matera,Prior Convictions, page121:
  We slid into our office, past two women discussing the "X factor," an apparently undefined quality their firm felt they lacked.
- 1999, Joel R. DeLuca,Political Savvy: Systematic Approaches to Leadership Behind the Scenes, page75:
  The map can be misleading. It can appear to contain all the relevant information, but in real life, there is always anX factor.
- 2007, Tasmina Perry,Daddy's Girls, page12:
  And put him on an LA film set and he glowed with that indefinableX-factor that agents the world over wished they could bottle.
- 2007 December 31, Fareed Zakaria, “The Rise of a Fierce Fragile Superpower”, inNewsweek,page38:
  Whether it's trade, global warming, Darfur or North Korea, China has become the newx factor, without which no durable solution is possible.
(idiomatic) A special talent, ability or quality or its indefinable cause.
Prothrombinase.
Synonym:factor X
(astrophysics) Theproportionality constant which converts CO emission line brightness to molecular hydrogen mass.