fiction

noun fic·tion \ ˈfik-shən \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: fiction in a Sentence

Definition of fiction

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

b : fictitious literature (such as novels or short stories)

was renowned as a writer of fiction

c : a work of fiction; especially : novel

Her latest work is a fiction set during the Civil War.

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

3 : the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination

She engaged in fiction to escape painful realities.

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fictional

play \ˈfik-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

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fictionality

play \ˌfik-shə-ˈna-lə-tē\ noun

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fictionally

play \ˈfik-shnə-lē, -shə-nᵊl-ē\ adverb

See fiction defined for English-language learners

See fiction defined for kids

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

As former staff fiction editor Daniel Menaker amusingly chronicled in n+1, there was a 1970s attempt, inspired by a resurgence in revenues after years of budget slimming.

— noreen malone, Daily Intelligencer, "The New Yorker Staff Wants to Unionize," 6 June 2018
That seems to be exactly what Orange is doing: homing in, documentary-like, on the details, using fiction as a camera that sees and records without mythologizing.

— chelsea leu, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘There There,’ by Tommy Orange," 6 June 2018
Panels this year include a fiction author panel on June 12, a teen author panel on June 28, a history author panel on July 24, and a mystery author panel on Aug. 16.

— michael walsh, Courant Community, "Library Hosting Local Author Festival This Summer," 6 June 2018
Rough Animals, the just-out first novel from Rae DelBianco, is that rara avis: A fiction debut at once sure-footed, almost existentially gripping, and raucously, violently unexpected.

— corey seymour, Vogue, "Rough Animals Author Rae DelBianco on Breaking Bad, Raising Cattle, and Writing Her First Novel," 5 June 2018
Which goes to prove: Truth is often weirder than fiction.

— susannah cahalan, Fox News, "You can actually have two sets of DNA," 4 June 2018
The way James Patterson, weaver of yarns, sat awkwardly and silently as reality proved to be, once again, far weirder than any fiction.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "Bill Clinton Feels His Own Pain," 4 June 2018
Caricatures filled prints and illustrated books, poetry took wild turns, and comic fiction flourished.

— lee lawrence, WSJ, "‘Unexpected Smiles: Seven Types of Humor in Japanese Paintings’ Review: Elegance That Encourages Laughter," 2 June 2018
Summer is made of stories: fiction that seems true, and true stories that beggar belief.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "A summer made of stories: Great books for warmer days," 2 June 2018

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 "invention of the mind," borrowed from Middle French fiction, borrowed from Latin fictiōn-, fictiō "action of shaping or molding, feigning, pretense, legal fiction," from fig-, variant stem of fingere "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, pretend to be" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at feign

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

fiction Synonyms

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

FICTION Defined for English Language Learners

fiction

noun

Definition of fiction for English Language Learners

: written stories about people and events that are not real : literature that tells stories which are imagined by the writer
: something that is not true

FICTION Defined for Kids

fiction

noun fic·tion \ ˈfik-shən \

Definition 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.