Synonyms of factitious

factitious

adjective

fak-ˈti-shəs 

1

as in synthetic

being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials

presumably the statue is of factitious marble, because for that price you're not going to get the real stuff

Synonyms & Similar Words

• synthetic
• faux
• artificial
• fake
• simulated
• false
• imitation
• dummy
• imitative
• mock
• ersatz
• bogus
• manufactured
• mimic
• substitute
• counterfeit
• pretend
• sham
• designer
• deceptive
• process
• man-made
• unauthentic
• manipulated
• cultured
• fabricated
• misleading
• pseudo
• fraudulent
• adulterated
• forged
• engineered
• concocted
• spurious
• phony
• feigned
• doctored
• fudged
• pinchbeck
• affected
• juggled
• tampered (with)
• brummagem

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• natural
• genuine
• true
• legitimate
• authentic
• valuable
• bona fide
• pure
• quality
• premium
• unadulterated

2

as in false

lacking in natural or spontaneous quality

the factitious friendliness shown by the beauty-pageant contestants to one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• false
• unnatural
• mock
• fake
• strained
• mechanical
• artificial
• exaggerated
• pseudo
• spurious
• simulated
• contrived
• bogus
• feigned
• phony
• affected
• plastic
• theatrical
• assumed
• forced
• sham
• unreal
• pretended
• cute
• put-on
• hollow
• insincere
• unrealistic
• automatic
• manufactured
• empty
• deliberate
• formal
• hypocritical
• calculated
• unauthentic
• melodramatic
• histrionic
• unctuous
• pat
• fabricated
• facile
• labored
• conscious
• canned
• stiff
• conventional
• concocted
• impersonal
• mealy
• hokey
• wooden
• stylized
• rigid
• cultivated
• artful
• premeditated
• genteel
• simpering
• overacted
• cutesy
• two-faced
• inflexible
• double-dealing
• overdone
• mincing
• mealymouthed
• goody-goody
• studied
• overrefined
• left-handed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• real
• spontaneous
• natural
• true
• artless
• realistic
• unaffected
• authentic
• right
• bona fide
• sincere
• ingenuous
• honest
• unfeigned
• unforced
• uncontrived
• easy
• smooth
• unconscious
• unpretending
• instinctive
• effortless
• impulsive
• extemporaneous
• impromptu
• unstudied
• unrehearsed
• unprompted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of factitious

Another was shorting Valeant, the high-flyer with factitious revenue growth. — William Baldwin, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

With this announcement, factitious (in my opinion) concerns about Amazon being behind in GenAI will be reduced big time. — Sandy Carter, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024

This is a useful inquiry, because we in the modern world are inundated by manipulated or factitious statistics, fabricated by marketers and politicians, promoted on social media and swallowed whole by news organizations. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023

Their connection to these was as factitious as their previous link to toothpaste. — David Mamet, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022

Marc Feldman, the American psychiatrist who popularized the term Munchausen by internet, has noticed that most of the cases of factitious disorder that come to his attention involve women. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2021

Almanacs aren’t always — and haven’t always been — so fastidiously factitious. — Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2020

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!