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
The Lumières would remain comparatively grounded, sometimes working in what could be called actualities, other times in deliberately fictional sequences.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2026
Officials revealed the prank in a fictional landing page added to the Zoo's website.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Apr. 2026
The researchers designed a series of agentic scenarios involving a fictional AI company called OpenBrain.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
Students taking this class study abroad, so to speak, at the fictional University of Mars.
—Jane Charlton, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2026
Officials revealed the prank in a fictional landing page added to the Zoo's website.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Apr. 2026
The researchers designed a series of agentic scenarios involving a fictional AI company called OpenBrain.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
Students taking this class study abroad, so to speak, at the fictional University of Mars.
—Jane Charlton, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fictional
Adjective
-
One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Increasingly, human resources departments noticed that applicants used the résumé to tell white lies, and even bigger fibs, listing fictitious degrees, fake promotions and other embellishments.—
Stephen Mihm,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Engendered by the ubiquity of stable and robust WiFi and the incredible power of the smartphone’s system-on-a-chip design, the smart everything era demonstrates the full transfer of the smartness imaginary.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
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Following Christopher Columbus’ first voyage, the rulers of Portugal and Spain, by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), partitioned the non-Christian world between them by an imaginary line in the Atlantic, 370 leagues (about 1,300 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In the immediate wake of Adebayo scoring 83 — second in NBA history only to Wilt Chamberlain’s mythical 100 — in a 150-129 blowout victory, Wizards coach Brian Keefe questioned the means to that end.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
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Per the new show’s official logline, in this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The title track is simply a recitation of imagined Spotify playlists, and once the joke lands we’re not left with much.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
25 Mar. 2026
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The campaign, which started in 2024, is part of the zoo's overall goal to fund a world-class aquarium, a larger education center and a re-imagined butterfly garden at the Great Plains Zoo campus.—
Shelly Conlon,
Sioux Falls Argus Leader,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fictional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fictional. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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