nonfiction

[ non-fik-shuhn ]

See synonyms for nonfiction on Thesaurus.com

noun

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 and drama).
works of this class: She had read all of his novels but none of his nonfiction.

(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.

Origin of nonfiction

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + fiction

Other words from nonfiction

non·fic·tion·al, adjective
non·fic·tion·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nonfiction in a sentence

Still, even a dry-seeming nonfiction category like “books about books” — a librarian might label them “studies of print culture”— can be dangerously fascinating.
When I find fiction too draining, I turn to books about books. They can be as thrilling as a whodunit. | Michael Dirda | January 27, 2021 | Washington Post
In addition, they may recall being required to read those dreaded textbooks, which, sadly, might have been their only contact with nonfiction.
Fiction or nonfiction? What kids really like to read. | Valerie Strauss | January 26, 2021 | Washington Post
A decade later, I was an assistant editor at Book World when Richard Ellmann’s “Oscar Wilde” was 1988’s most eagerly anticipated work of literary nonfiction.
How did all these books get into my house? There’s a method to what seems like madness. | Michael Dirda | January 6, 2021 | Washington Post
She is a nonfiction faculty member in Alma College’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.
ProPublica Adds Two New Journalists to Midwest Newsroom | by ProPublica | January 5, 2021 | ProPublica
Pair it with something nonfiction, like “I’ve Been Wrong Before” by Evan James, a book of essays on life, coming out, relationships, and more.
Holiday gifts for the reader on your list | Terri Schlichenmeyer | December 10, 2020 | Washington Blade

Lehrer is already well into his next book, a nonfictional look at presidential debates, due out in 2011.
Jim Lehrer's Cross-Country Fantasy | Sandra McElwaine | April 24, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for nonfiction

nonfiction

/ (ˌnɒnˈfɪkʃən) /

noun

writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration
(modifier) relating to or denoting nonfiction

Derived forms of nonfiction

nonfictional, adjective
nonfictionally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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