fictitious

adjective

fic·​ti·​tious fik-ˈti-shəs How to pronounce fictitious (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction : imaginary
fictitious events described in his novel
2
a
: conventionally or hypothetically assumed or accepted
a fictitious concept
b
of a name : false, assumed
3
: not genuinely felt
fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun

Did you know?

Fictitious is related to the Medieval Latin word fictīcius, meaning "artificial," "imaginary," "feigned," or "fraudulent." 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: fictīcius is from the Latin verb fingere, meaning "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of; pretend to be." 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.

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hardly anything was recorded of her acting or voice, which is why Marcello — who has equally worked in documentary forms over the years — has opted for a fictitious exploration of her life. Blake Simons, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025 Seth Rogen — who co-created the show and plays fictitious studio head Remick — was in research mode at the Venice Film Festival on Monday. Alex Ritman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025 Netflix India original Saare Jahan Se Accha is about fictitious spies from around the world - India, Pakistan, America and Russia. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025 The association that Fuller makes with an entirely fictitious racial group—Indo-European for many racists both inside and outside the fascist movement, and more specifically Indo-German for some Nazis—only occurred later. Stewart Home august 22, Literary Hub, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fictitious

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

circa 1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fictitious was circa 1633

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Cite this Entry

“Fictitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fictitious. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

fictitious

adjective
fic·​ti·​tious fik-ˈtish-əs How to pronounce fictitious (audio)
: not real : made-up, imaginary
fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun

Legal Definition

fictitious

adjective
fic·​ti·​tious
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a legal fiction
2
: false
fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun

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