1
a
: something invented by the imagination or feigned
specifically
: an invented story
… I'd found out that the story of the ailing son was pure fiction. —
Andrew A. Rooney
Andrew A. Rooney
b
: fictitious literature (such as novels or short stories)
was renowned as a writer of fiction
c
: a work of fiction
2
a
: an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth
a legal fiction
b
: a useful illusion or pretense
It was only a fiction of independence his mother gave him; he was almost totally under her power …—G. A. Wagner
G. A. Wagner3
: the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination
She engaged in fiction to escape painful realities.
Synonyms of fiction
Examples of fiction in a Sentence
She believes the fiction that crime rates are up.
most stories about famous outlaws of the Old West are fictions that have little or nothing to do with fact
Recent Examples on the Web
Will history books that refuse to propagate the fiction that the 2020 election was stolen be allowed in red-state classrooms?
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
This summer’s bumper crop of crime fiction does not disappoint.
—Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Her sensitive and sublime renderings of such states in her fiction and poetry exemplify this ruth.
—Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
The fiction in the book doesn’t come from him making things up, but simply because there are gaps in information from people passing away or simply forgetting details over the past two decades.
—Brayden Garcia
may 11, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for fiction
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Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
This summer’s bumper crop of crime fiction does not disappoint.
—Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Her sensitive and sublime renderings of such states in her fiction and poetry exemplify this ruth.
—Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
The fiction in the book doesn’t come from him making things up, but simply because there are gaps in information from people passing away or simply forgetting details over the past two decades.
—Brayden Garcia
may 11, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for fiction
Cite this Entry
“Fiction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiction. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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