fictitious
Americanadjective
-
not genuine or authentic; assumed; false
to give a fictitious address
-
of, related to, or characteristic of fiction; created by the imagination
Usage
What’s the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive? Fictitious most commonly means false or made up, as in I signed in with a fictitious name to hide my identity. Fictional means invented as part of a work of fiction, as in Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective or This account is entirely fictional—it’s not based on a true story. Fictive is a much less commonly used word that means imaginary or relating to or capable of creating fiction, as in a fictive imagination.Confusingly, their meanings can overlap—fictitious can sometimes mean the same thing as fictional, and fictive can sometimes mean the same thing as fictitious. It can be tough to remember which word is the right one to use since all three are adjectives that are used in contexts involving things that are imagined or made up.Still, they are usually used in pretty specific ways. Fictitious is most commonly used in the context of things that are made up to conceal something or deceive someone in real life, whereas fictional is almost always applied to stories and characters that are part of creative works, like books and movies. Fictitious can usually be replaced with the word fake—this is not the case for fictional.Here’s an example of fictitious, fictional, and fictive used correctly in the same sentence.Example: Instead of using fictitious names that no one would notice, his aliases were the names of fictional characters, like Clark Kent and Peter Parker—you would think a con artist would have a more fictive imagination.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive.
Other Word Forms
- fictitiously adverb
- fictitiousness noun
- half-fictitious adjective
- half-fictitiously adverb
- half-fictitiousness noun
- nonfictitious adjective
- nonfictitiously adverb
- nonfictitiousness noun
- quasi-fictitious adjective
- quasi-fictitiously adverb
- semifictitious adjective
- unfictitious adjective
- unfictitiously adverb
Etymology
Origin of fictitious
1605–15; from Latin fictīcius “artificial,” equivalent to fict(us) “shaped, feigned” ( fiction ) + -īcius -itious
Compare meaning
How does fictitious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Its test involved submitting applications from 20 fictitious individuals, of whom 18 were approved.
From Los Angeles Times
Not long ago, a few documents could establish a fictitious identity.
The fictitious Sen. Jefferson Smith, played by James Stewart, talks to the point of exhausted collapse as a way of garnering national notice and exposing political corruption.
From Los Angeles Times
In November, federal prosecutors charged External link a Hong Kong businessman with creating fictitious U.S. investment advisor firms that he allegedly used to tout a company that the indictment leaves unnamed.
From Barron's
She thought of the sui generis Hixby’s guidebook, the fictitious Judge Quinzy, and the mysterious danger Miss Mortimer had warned her about.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
