factitious

American  

[fak-tish-uhs] / fækˈtɪʃ əs /

adjective

1. not spontaneous or natural; artificial; contrived.

   factitious laughter; factitious enthusiasm.

2. made; manufactured.

   a decoration of factitious flowers and leaves.

---

factitious British  

/ fækˈtɪʃəs /

adjective

1. artificial rather than natural

   factitious demands created by the mass media

2. not genuine; sham

   factitious enthusiasm

---

Other Word Forms

• factitiously adverb
• factitiousness noun
• nonfactitious adjective
• nonfactitiously adverb
• nonfactitiousness noun
• overfactitious adjective

Etymology

Origin of factitious

First recorded in 1640–50, factitious is from the Latin word factīcius “made by art, artificial.” See fact, -itious

Compare meaning

How does factitious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• factitious vs. fictitious

Example Sentences

Prof Marc Feldman is one of the world's most renowned experts on factitious disorders like Munchausen syndrome.

From BBC • May 7, 2023

Because of his specialization in factitious disorder, Feldman hears from both victims and perpetrators of Munchausen by Internet.

From Washington Post • Jun. 20, 2016

“The heroic image that cancer survivors increasingly have is attractive to factitious disorder patients,” Marc Feldman writes in his book scholarly Playing Sick.

From The Guardian • Feb. 18, 2016

The myths in them didn’t seem at all factitious.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 14, 1966

I hadn't known what factitious meant, so I looked it up in the dictionary.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath