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 (opposed to fiction and distinguished from 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

Explanation

When you read nonfiction, you're reading about something that really happened — it's not a story somebody made up. Prose is divided into the two big categories of fiction and nonfiction, and nonfiction includes all kinds of things — biographies, histories, memoirs, how-to books, self-help, books on business, even books on writing. Narrative nonfiction relates stories that really happened but in a way that draws you in just like fiction does; it tells a true story, but with lots of drama and all the interesting quirks of the characters.

Example Sentences

The narrator of “10:04” dreams of a book that, “like a poem, is neither fiction nor nonfiction, but a flickering between them.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Most known and loved for 1984’s “Paris, Texas,” the filmmaker has more recently devoted his work to nonfiction storytelling.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

In nonfiction, a soulful look at how we interact with the natural world leads to an equally soulful look at why the American West’s human diversity enriches us all.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

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 • Feb. 16, 2026

She gets up and walks me back to the nonfiction section.

From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome