nonfiction

American  

[non-fik-shuhn] / nɒnˈfɪk ʃən /

noun

1. the branch of literature comprising works of narrative prose dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, including biography, history, and the essay (fiction and poetry anddrama ).

2. works of this class.

   She had read all of his novels but none of his nonfiction.

3. (especially in cataloging books, as in a library or bookstore) all writing or books not fiction, poetry, or drama, including nonfictive narrative prose and reference works; the broadest category of written works.

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nonfiction British  

/ ˌnɒnˈfɪkʃən /

noun

1. writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration

2. (modifier) relating to or denoting nonfiction

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Other Word Forms

• nonfictional adjective
• nonfictionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of nonfiction

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + fiction

Example Sentences

Jonah would be in the nonfiction section, near the conference room.

From Literature

His final film earned universal critical acclaim, and was recognized as the best nonfiction film of 2023 by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

From Los Angeles Times

Food has the power to connect people because it’s a “very emotional thing,” says Ali Hooke, who was inspired to become a chef by Bourdain’s bestselling nonfiction book, “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The link between comic books and Jewish creators is not difficult to fathom, and it has been covered extensively in nonfiction as well as in Michael Chabon’s 2000 novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.”

From The Wall Street Journal

My sister is doing her best impression of a librarian who caught kids eating candy in the nonfiction section.

From Literature