fictionalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fictionalize
First recorded in 1920–25; fictional ( def. ) + -ize
Explanation
To fictionalize is to take a true story and change the details so it's not literally accurate. When you write your first novel, you might simply fictionalize the family tales your grandparents have told you. When you fictionalize something, you transform a factual story into fiction. A lot of writers use this technique to turn their own experiences and real people they know into interesting stories. If you're writing a story for school about the time your friend forged a note from his mom to excuse his absence, you might decide to fictionalize him so he doesn't get in trouble. Fictionalize comes from a Latin root, fingere, "to shape or form."
Vocabulary lists containing fictionalize
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.
See Examples For:
“Hacks” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” successfully fictionalize such frustrations, as the tribute acknowledges by opening with “Hacks” star Jean Smart’s pre-recorded reflections on the late comedian’s influence.
From Salon ● May 14, 2025
Here’s a look at shows that fictionalize ways in which brain-infecting viruses, unchecked carbon dioxide and hucksterism could determine whether the world ends with a bang or a whimper.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2023
Noomin waited years after her losses before writing about them, and the conflict between wanting to fictionalize her story and to tell it honestly is dramatized through conversations with an alter ego.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2022
Moriarty and Jaci supply each other writing prompts, while claiming first dibs on real-life anecdotes they wish to fictionalize.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2021
It was a means by which, if not to erase or delete memory, to splice it, to fictionalize it, and to some degree begin again; and yet he judged consciousness to be even less real.
From An Apostate: Nawin of Thais by Steven (Steven David Justin) Sills
Drawing inspiration from “The Magician,” Colm Tóibín’s fictionalized 2021 Mann biography, Pawlikowski uses this trip as a jumping-off point, introducing real-life individuals who were not present and inventing a new central dynamic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Wunmi Mosaku -- who plays a fictionalized Zuckerberg advisor -- holds similar expectations for the film, which arrives in theaters Friday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“We’re lucky to have our source material be written by one of the most detail-oriented writers of that particular age,” said Rigney, who portrays the fictionalized Ellis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
In “Cast Away,” Francesca de Tores offers a fictionalized account of Selkirk’s tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Mother tells me you have given up on the tribal art book and are pleased with this one, a sort of fictionalized travelogue?
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Her First American,” Segal’s best book, also draws closely from life, but its fictionalizing feels freer and brings out poignant elements of romance and tragicomedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
I don’t want to ask you specifically about that, but rather the creative habit of approaching Lincoln’s life stories from an array of directions including fictionalizing him as a vampire slayer.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2024
It also drew a blank when asked for a speech from George Santos, the New York Republican congressman who was caught fictionalizing his past.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
And it’s uncommon for producers to involve the people whose lives they are fictionalizing.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
The pair decided that Tembi Locke’s story of her marriage to an Italian man, over his mother’s resistance to the American interloper, and its aftermath would benefit from fictionalizing the characters.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
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