fictitious

[fik-tish-uhs]

adjective

1. created, taken, or assumed for the sake of concealment; not genuine; false.

   fictitious names.

   Synonyms: fake, spurious

2. of, relating to, or consisting of fiction; imaginatively produced or set forth; created by the imagination.

   a fictitious hero.

   Synonyms: fictional

fictitious

/ fɪkˈtɪʃəs /

adjective

1. not genuine or authentic; assumed; false

   to give a fictitious address

2. of, related to, or characteristic of fiction; created by the imagination

Other Word Forms

• fictitiously adverb
• fictitiousness noun
• half-fictitious adjective
• half-fictitiously adverb
• half-fictitiousness noun
• nonfictitious adjective
• nonfictitiously adverb
• nonfictitiousness noun
• quasi-fictitious adjective
• quasi-fictitiously adverb
• semifictitious adjective
• unfictitious adjective
• unfictitiously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fictitious¹

1605–15; from Latin fictīcius “artificial,” equivalent to fict(us) “shaped, feigned” ( fiction ) + -īcius -itious

Example Sentences

She thought of the sui generis Hixby’s guidebook, the fictitious Judge Quinzy, and the mysterious danger Miss Mortimer had warned her about.

Read more on Literature

In Cussler’s books, the various heroes work for a fictitious agency called the National Underwater and Marine Agency.

Read more on Literature

Tricolor, a chain of auto dealers that financed subprime consumers, is accused by a bank partner of pledging fictitious car loans and has filed for bankruptcy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Irani's character was - and is - at the centre of this story of the fictitious Virani family.

Read more on BBC

Recording from his home in Pasadena, he has played men and women of all ages, races, nationalities and abilities, as well as “postapocalyptic people living in trees and empresses of fictitious planets,” he notes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apocryphal 
• bogus 
• counterfeit 
• fabricated 
• false 
• fanciful 
• fictional 
• imaginary 
• make believe 
• misleading 
• mythical 
• phony 
• sham 
• spurious 

When To Use

What’s the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive?

Fictitious most commonly means false or made up, as in I signed in with a fictitious name to hide my identity. Fictional means invented as part of a work of fiction, as in Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective or This account is entirely fictional—it’s not based on a true story. Fictive is a much less commonly used word that means imaginary or relating to or capable of creating fiction, as in a fictive imagination.Confusingly, their meanings can overlap—fictitious can sometimes mean the same thing as fictional, and fictive can sometimes mean the same thing as fictitious. It can be tough to remember which word is the right one to use since all three are adjectives that are used in contexts involving things that are imagined or made up.Still, they are usually used in pretty specific ways. Fictitious is most commonly used in the context of things that are made up to conceal something or deceive someone in real life, whereas fictional is almost always applied to stories and characters that are part of creative works, like books and movies. Fictitious can usually be replaced with the word fake—this is not the case for fictional.Here’s an example of fictitious, fictional, and fictive used correctly in the same sentence.Example: Instead of using fictitious names that no one would notice, his aliases were the names of fictional characters, like Clark Kent and Peter Parker—you would think a con artist would have a more fictive imagination.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive.