fiction

[fik-shuhn]

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.

3. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

   We've all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.

   Synonyms: fantasy, fable
   Antonyms: fact

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

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

6. 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.

fiction

/ ˈfɪkʃən /

noun

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

2. an invented story or explanation; lie

3. the act of inventing a story or explanation

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

fiction

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• fictional adjective
• fictionally adverb
• profiction adjective
• semifiction noun
• semifictional adjective
• semifictionally adverb
• fictioneer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fiction¹

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; figment ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of fiction¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Science fiction bursts at the seams with bizarre extinction scenarios, usually delivered from space, like the one that precipitates Carol’s irritating life turn.

Read more on Salon

It has become an all-conquering meme sparking its own fan fiction and cosplay characters.

Read more on Barron's

AI innovation raises the specter of superintelligent machines like those in science fiction.

Read more on Barron's

It’s something I never intended to do and something I didn’t think would inform my fiction that much.

Read more on Salon

At the opposite end of the spectrum that runs from cozy to hair-raising were two immersive fiction features about military disasters that hit devastatingly.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• book 
• drama 
• fable 
• fantasy 
• imagination 
• legend 
• myth 
• narrative 
• novel 
• tale 
• yarn