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fictitious

adjective
fic·​ti·​tious | \ fik-ˈti-shÉ™s How to pronounce fictitious (audio) \

Definition of fictitious

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction : imaginary fictitious events described in his novel
2a : conventionally or hypothetically assumed or accepted a fictitious concept
b of a name : false, assumed
3 : not genuinely felt
Other Words from fictitious Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about fictitious

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Other Words from fictitious

fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for fictitious

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented. fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception. fictitious characters fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence. a land of fabulous riches legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition. the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination. mythical creatures apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate. a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Did You Know?

Fictitious is related to the Latin word ficticius, meaning "artificial" or "feigned." It was first used in English as an antonym for "natural." For instance, a fake diamond would be referred to as a fictitious one. This use indicates the word's deeper Latin roots. Ficticius is from Latin fingere, meaning "to shape, form, or devise." Nowadays, "fictitious" is no longer used for physical things shaped by the human hand. Rather, it is typically used for imaginative creations or for feigned emotions.

Examples of fictitious in a Sentence

The characters in the book are all fictitious. She gave a fictitious address on the application.

Recent Examples on the Web

 Officer Norman determined the suspect had provided a fictitious name and date of birth and found numerous warrants in her true name. — Houston Chronicle, "Bellaire Police Department weekly report," 29 July 2019 Now Social media sites have become fertile ground for peddling online misinformation, which has been on the rise and blamed for spreading falsehoods including medical hoaxes and fictitious political content ahead of elections. — Hillary Leung, Time, "Instagram Will Enable Users to Flag Posts They Think Are Fake," 16 Aug. 2019 But oil companies, banks and supermarkets have been targeted by firms that appear from nowhere, demanding payment of fictitious debts. — The Economist, "Why many foreign companies are on the verge of leaving Gabon," 15 Aug. 2019 The single was released alongside a macabre music video, in which events play backwards to reveal Rexha's fictitious plot to kill The Chainsmokers. — Ellise Shafer, Billboard, "Here Are the Lyrics to the Chainsmokers & Bebe Rexha's 'Call You Mine'," 15 Aug. 2019 There were no injuries reported, but the driver of the other vehicle was found to be driving under suspension and had fictitious plates on his vehicle. — cleveland.com, "Man finds himself victim of crash at the wrong time: Gates Mills Police Blotter," 14 Aug. 2019 Among the ways Navarro alleges that Olvera defrauded Ficrea: filing fraudulent invoices, creating fictitious loans that went to his companies and siphoning off interest intended for depositors. — Jason Buch, ExpressNews.com, "Mexican banker turns over San Antonio properties in fraud case," 12 Aug. 2019 In a recent video from Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning director (accompanied by the actor) explained their decision to make the fictitious aging TV star Rick Dalton bipolar and the origins of that development. — Ryan Parker, The Hollywood Reporter, "Quentin Tarantino Explains Choice to Make Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' Character Bipolar," 31 July 2019 Not only is this fictitious illness absent from reputable medical texts, periodicals, and websites, it's been debunked by prominent doctors. — Christina Oehler, Health.com, "Is Blue Waffle Disease Real? Here’s What a Gynecologist Says," 23 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fictitious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of fictitious

circa 1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for fictitious

borrowed from Medieval Latin fictīcius "artificial, imaginary, feigned, fraudulent," going back to Latin, "artificial, not natural," from fictus, past participle of fingere "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, pretend to be" + -īcius -itious — more at feign

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More Definitions for fictitious

fictitious

adjective
How to pronounce fictitious (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of fictitious

: not true or real

See the full definition for fictitious in the English Language Learners Dictionary

fictitious

adjective
fic·​ti·​tious | \ fik-ˈti-shÉ™s How to pronounce fictitious (audio) \

Kids Definition of fictitious

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