Skip to main content
fictitious

fictitious

31 5.1
Not real and made up
  • adjective
  • /fɪkˈtɪʃəs/
translation icon : ficticio
  • Students who wrote to a fictitious audience showed a decrease in writing output during the study.
  • a fictitious name
  • a fictitious item
  • a fictitious psychologist

One could argue it was a fictitious made-up war by the right.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I have introduced A fictitious entity, the center of mass.

  • The names and schools in the report are fictitious; they were created to illustrate a point.

  • Then she goes to visit a friend who is teaching at this fictitious college.

  • The names and schools included in the vignettes are fictitious; however, each example is based on actual practice.

    Academic text (2012)
  • That sketch I showed you, it's a fictitious character, it doesn't exist.

  • I mean, "Linda Lovelace" was a fictitious character.

  • Subjects computed and tabulated the work hours of employees of a fictitious company.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Although some of the details were fictitious, the overall story conveyed a true message.

  • The novel features a fictitious hero who embarks on a journey filled with imagination.

Synonyms

false
vsfictitious
263 2.8

Not real and made to trick people

is the wider category of anything not real or true
fictional
vsfictitious
106 3.4

Made up in stories or in your mind, not real

is the broader term for anything invented or imagined rather than real
unreal
vsfictitious
28 4.2

Not real, like something from a dream

covers all things that are not real or true
fantastical
vsfictitious
21 8.0

Very strange and like something made up in dreams or stories

is a neutral term for anything invented or imagined rather than real
illusory
vsfictitious
12 7.0

Seeming to be real but not really there

simply states lack of reality rather than describing appearance
put-on
vsfictitious
  • Informal
8 7.6

Seems real but is actually false

is the state of being invented or imagined rather than an act of trickery
fictive
vsfictitious
1 8.5

Not real and made up for a story or to hide the truth

is more general, applying to any nonreal or imagined thing
imaginary
vsfictitious
1 5.5

Ideas or images that exist only in the mind and are not real

is the general label for things invented rather than actually existing
fabricated
vsfictitious
6.0

Made up and not true, often to trick people

is neutral about intent, covering any invented or imagined item
fancied
vsfictitious
5.4

Not real because it is only in someone's mind

is broader, not limited to private thoughts or wishes
pretended
vsfictitious
4.7

Made to seem real to trick people

is about being not real without implying deception or acting
sham
vsfictitious
6.8

Not real and made to trick people

is the more general term for something not true or actual
assumed
vsfictitious
7.4

Used to hide someone's real name, identity or feelings

is about lack of reality rather than taking on a false role

Antonyms

1.0

Happening in real life, not imagined

1.4

Real and existing in fact, not imagined or expected

Compounds

A person who is not real and appears in a story, book, or film

1 7.8

A name a business uses that is not its legal registered name

A place that exists only in the mind or in stories

How Real

real
1.0
legendary
246 4.2
fictitious
31 5.1
imaginary
217 3.2

Surface Forms

fictitious positive

Etymology

Fictitious comes from the same root as fiction and the Latin verb fingere, which means 'to make' or 'to shape'. So something fictitious is literally 'made up' or imagined rather than real.