fiction

[ fik-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: fictionfictional on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form.

  2. works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.

  1. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story: We've all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.

  2. the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.

  3. an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.

  4. Law. an allegation that a fact exists that is known not to exist, made by authority of law to bring a case within the operation of a rule of law.

Origin of fiction

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ficcio(u)n, from French, from Latin fictiōn- (stem of fictiō ) “a shaping,” hence “a feigning, fiction,” equivalent to fict(us) “molded” (past participle of fingere ) + -iōn- -ion;see figment

synonym study For fiction

3. Fiction, fabrication, figment suggest a story that is without basis in reality. Fiction suggests a story invented and fashioned either to entertain or to deceive: clever fiction; pure fiction. Fabrication applies particularly to a false but carefully invented statement or series of statements, in which some truth is sometimes interwoven, the whole usually intended to deceive: fabrications to lure speculators. Figment applies to a tale, idea, or statement often made up to explain, justify, or glorify oneself: His rich uncle was a figment of his imagination.

Other words for fiction

Opposites for fiction

Other words from fiction

  • fic·tion·al, adjective
  • fic·tion·al·ly, adverb
  • pro·fic·tion, adjective
  • sem·i·fic·tion, noun
  • sem·i·fic·tion·al, adjective
  • sem·i·fic·tion·al·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with fiction

Words Nearby fiction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fiction in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fiction

fiction

/ (ˈfɪkʃən) /


noun
  1. literary works invented by the imagination, such as novels or short stories

  2. an invented story or explanation; lie

  1. the act of inventing a story or explanation

  2. law something assumed to be true for the sake of convenience, though probably false

Origin of fiction

1
C14: from Latin fictiō a fashioning, hence something imaginary, from fingere to shape

Derived forms of fiction

  • fictional, adjective
  • fictionally, adverb
  • fictioneer or fictionist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for fiction

fiction

Literature that is a work of the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. Some examples of modern works of fiction are The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.