nonfiction
Americannoun
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the branch of literature comprising works of narrative prose dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, including biography, history, and the essay (opposed to fiction and distinguished from poetry anddrama ).
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works of this class.
She had read all of his novels but none of his nonfiction.
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(especially in cataloging books, as in a library or bookstore) all writing or books not fiction, poetry, or drama, including nonfictive narrative prose and reference works; the broadest category of written works.
noun
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writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration
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(modifier) relating to or denoting nonfiction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nonfiction
Explanation
When you read nonfiction, you're reading about something that really happened — it's not a story somebody made up. Prose is divided into the two big categories of fiction and nonfiction, and nonfiction includes all kinds of things — biographies, histories, memoirs, how-to books, self-help, books on business, even books on writing. Narrative nonfiction relates stories that really happened but in a way that draws you in just like fiction does; it tells a true story, but with lots of drama and all the interesting quirks of the characters.
Vocabulary lists containing nonfiction
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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National Librarian Day
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Literary Terms, Grade 8, Unit 1
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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.
Schiller, an MFA graduate of the University of Iowa and now an assistant professor of nonfiction at Texas Tech University, is a fluid writer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
In nonfiction, authors consider how we define wild places, how we pigeonhole the aging, and how languages live or die.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Don’t miss our list of June’s best nonfiction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Sony already owns nonfiction production companies, including Sharp Entertainment, Embassy Row, Brass Monkeys Media and 19 Entertainment, the powerhouse behind “American Idol.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
When he looked up, surprised, I put a stack of nonfiction down in front of him.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
