Definition of fiction
1a : 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. Rooneyb : fictitious literature (such as novels or short stories) was renowned as a writer of fictionc : a work of fiction; especially : novel Her latest work is a fiction set during the Civil War.
2a : an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth a legal fictionb : 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
3 : the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination She engaged in fiction to escape painful realities.
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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 of fiction from the Web
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Camino Island by John Grisham (Doubleday, fiction, on sale June 6)
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The instruments are protected from 2,500-degree heat by an engineering feat worthy of science fiction—
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This hasn't, of course, kept fiction writers from regularly using autistic and developmentally disabled narrators and protagonists in their work.
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Hobbies: Avid reader of science-fiction books and a fan of cricket, soccer and tennis.
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At the public unveiling on Aug. 18, Baez will give a talk on her interest in anthropology, science fiction, black female subjectivity and women’s work.
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Comic book and science fiction fans showing up at the Phoenix Comicon festival will have all prop weapons - including swords, sabers and fake guns - confiscated after a man showed up at the event with real guns and caused a security scare.
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Tiny robots swimming inside the body have long been a standby in science fiction, from Borg nanoprobes to The Fantastic Voyage.
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Grace Hemingway is often seen as domineering and emasculating; Ernest claimed to hate her for her sanctimonious condemnation of his early fiction, and blamed her for his father’s suicide.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fiction'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of fiction
Middle English ficcioun, from Middle French fiction, from Latin fiction-, fictio act of fashioning, fiction, from fingere to shape, fashion, feign — more at dough
Other Literature Terms
FICTION Defined for English Language Learners
fiction
playDefinition of fiction for English Language Learners
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: written stories about people and events that are not real : literature that tells stories which are imagined by the writer
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: something that is not true
FICTION Defined for Kids
fiction
playDefinition of fiction for Students
1 : something told or written that is not fact
2 : a made-up story
3 : works of literature that are not true stories
Word Root of fiction
The Latin word fingere, meaning “to shape” or “to mold,” and its form fictus give us the roots fig and fict. Words from the Latin fingere have something to do with shaping. The figure of something, especially a person's body, is its shape. To disfigure is to change the shape and ruin the looks of something. Fiction is something written that is not fact but is shaped by the imagination.
Law Dictionary
Learn More about fiction
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for fiction Spanish Central: Translation of fiction Nglish: Translation of fiction for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of fiction for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fiction
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