nonfiction

American  

[non-fik-shuhn] / nɒnˈfɪk ʃən /

noun

1. 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 ).

2. works of this class.

   She had read all of his novels but none of his nonfiction.

3. (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.

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nonfiction British  

/ ˌnɒnˈfɪkʃən /

noun

1. writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration

2. (modifier) relating to or denoting nonfiction

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Other Word Forms

• nonfictional
  adjective
• nonfictionally
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of nonfiction

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + fiction

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nonfiction

The surprise inclusion of a certain actor and staged reenactments are among the film’s non-conventional elements that expose the tensions between performance, nonfiction and truth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Malcolm Gladwell, 63, is host of the podcast “Revisionist History” and the author of nine nonfiction books, including “The Tipping Point” and “Blink.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

In the past 20 years Mr. Macintyre has become the master of the nonfiction spy genre, his books chronicling remarkable stories of operatives, famous and unknown, who changed history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Suvorova’s very active social media presence sheds light on the current state of memoir and nonfiction publishing: You must have a platform to be read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Now imagine reading a nonfiction book packed with stories such as this—true tales soberly related—just before setting off alone on a camping trip of your own into the North American wilderness.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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