fiction

American  

[fik-shuhn] / ˈfɪk ʃən /

noun

• fictions
  plural

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.

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fiction British  

/ 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

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fiction Cultural  

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.

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Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fictions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fiction

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 ( def. )

Explanation

A fiction is a deliberately fabricated account of something. It can also be a literary work based on imagination rather than on fact, like a novel or short story. The Latin word fictus means “to form,” which seems like a good source for the English word fiction, since fiction is formed in the imagination. Like its literary cousins fable, legend, and myth, however, fiction has a slightly darker additional meaning: a deliberate lie or untruth. When we talk about "the line between fact and fiction," we're talking about the difference between truth and lies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fiction fictions

But if the best fiction can also be instructive, maybe the last moral of Kazan’s “East of Eden” can help us hold multiple truths at once.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

ITHACA, N.Y.—On a drizzly Thursday, Cornell University students wandered into consulting recruitment sessions, hustled up the slopes to midterms and listened to a Pulitzer-winning fiction writer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Sliced Bread separates science fact from the marketing fiction.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Then he paid high school students to write on the papyrus using passages from "Star Wars," the Bible, and a quote from the 1960s science fiction television show "The Outer Limits."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Sierra was curled up in one of the cozy chairs near the three-story-tall wall of fiction.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Amid the usual rants of self-puffery and other fictions, he said this:

From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026

Even Wall Street Journal editor-at-large Gerard Baker, hardly a left-wing firebrand, quipped that the address was so full of fictions he was beginning to doubt whether the USA men’s hockey team actually won gold.

From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2026

Importantly, and often understated, tokenized equities remain tied to the traditional financial-asset universe; they are not “crypto-only” fictions but rather a bridge between legacy asset classes and blockchain infrastructure.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026

But Dillon’s memoir, as the author notes, was also rife with fictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

In our fictions, a lucky shot saves your life.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

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