as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination
the events in the horror movie seemed so real to some fans that they could not believe that the whole thing was fictional
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Recent Examples of fictional
Eighty years later, Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy (1992–96) chronicled the settlement and terraforming of the fourth planet from the Sun by space colonists — the fictional events of which begin this year.
—
Big Think, 19 Feb. 2026
Set outside of Carson City, Nevada, during the 1860s on a fictional ranch called Ponderosa, the show followed the adventures and tribulations of the Cartwright family.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
The young adult novels, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, centered around the lives of the sisters in Sweet Valley, a fictional suburb in Southern California.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
An awareness of absent ancestors prickles through her writing, but at the same time, her fictional worlds feel solid and present.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Big Think, 19 Feb. 2026
Set outside of Carson City, Nevada, during the 1860s on a fictional ranch called Ponderosa, the show followed the adventures and tribulations of the Cartwright family.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
The young adult novels, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, centered around the lives of the sisters in Sweet Valley, a fictional suburb in Southern California.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
An awareness of absent ancestors prickles through her writing, but at the same time, her fictional worlds feel solid and present.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fictional
Adjective
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Who wants to sit through a fictitious novelist’s clumsy drafts?—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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The committee requested that information after a congressional watchdog found last December that the enhanced premium tax credits were vulnerable to fraud, with auditors successfully obtaining subsidized coverage for multiple ‘fictitious’ applicants.—
Sophie Brams,
The Hill,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Locate the two uppermost stars — Merak and Dubhe — and draw an imaginary line from the former through the latter and out into space.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
17 Feb. 2026
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He's answered each with an instantly recognizable theme that helped cement these imaginary places in our brains.—
Alex Galbraith,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Today’s longevity-medicine movement is driven by the same aggressive desire for eternal youth as the mythic stories of old.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
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Rarely do these pieces directly echo the two men’s interpersonal drama, but the information adds context to the actors’ enchanting movements, which are backed by gorgeous outfits and striking set design that accentuate the mythical tales being played out.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Both are beatless, widescreen, and almost formless, little soundtracks to an imagined world in bloom.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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They’d been drawn by the pay, but also by a sense of altruism and imagined kinship.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fictional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fictional. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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