fictional
Americanadjective
-
invented as part of a work of fiction.
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective.
-
of, like, or characterized by fiction.
He used a fictional situation to explain the subject.
Usage
What’s the difference between fictional, fictitious, and fictive? 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. Fictitious most commonly means false or made up, as in I signed in with a fictitious name to hide my identity. 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. Fictional is almost always applied to stories and characters that are part of creative works, like books and movies, whereas fictitious is most commonly used in the context of things that are made up to conceal something or deceive someone in real life. Fictitious can usually be replaced with the word fake—this is not the case for fictional.Here’s an example of fictional, fictitious 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 fictional, fictitious, and fictive.
Other Word Forms
- fictionally adverb
Etymology
Origin of fictional
First recorded in 1840–45; fiction ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
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.
What better way to show the world a new side of yourself than to play the equally wicked fictional brother of one of modern literature’s most notorious slashers?
From Salon
She drew liberally on her own experiences in the music industry to portray the fictional Charli's reactions.
From Barron's
The show opens with Snoopy traveling from his fictional cartoon town to a rehearsal where Dangerously gifts him a tambourine to join their jam.
From Los Angeles Times
Meanwhile, fans of the Japanese survival horror series Silent Hill were given their first proper look at latest game Townfall set on St. Amelia, "a fictional island inspired by Scotland".
From BBC
Cooking shows in the U.S. date to the 1920s when Betty Crocker, a fictional character created by Washburn-Crosby, the predecessor of General Mills, provided practical cooking instruction to American homemakers on the radio.
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.
