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:
Shadows of Spielberg’s filmography loom large over “Disclosure Day”: the inclination to revisit and fictionalize childhood from “The Fabelmans,” the tests of empathy in “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” and, of course, all the aliens.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
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
“I was very excited to pick it apart and figure out what we wanted to fictionalize to push this story forward,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 4, 2022
Vanessa’s capacity to romanticize, to fictionalize, runs rampant.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2020
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
Horton and her sister inspired the 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie “Double Teamed,” a fictionalized account of the twins’ time at Palos Verdes High.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Weightier than any of that is the ever-more involuted mystery enveloping the real Elizabeth Short, whose murder has inspired fictionalized homages before De Palma’s movie and since, but has yet to be satisfactorily rendered onscreen.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Also, apparently, a fine pitch for a series, with the two men playing fictionalized versions of themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Prosecutors allege that Matar was motivated by a fatwa that Ayatollah Khomeini, then leader of Iran, issued in 1989 following Rushdie's depiction of a fictionalized Prophet Muhammad in his novel "The Satanic Verses."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
"You want me to play a fictionalized version of my own ex-boyfriend?"
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
The narrator decides to write a novel fictionalizing the surveyor’s account, shame be damned—“And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with mine.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
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
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
The Book Review podcast: Alice Elliott Dark discusses her new novel and Katherine Chen talks about fictionalizing Joan of Arc.
From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2022
That story followed the rise of Viking Ragnar Lodbrok from farmer to king, fictionalizing the exploits of a real figure from history.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2022
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