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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fictional
The picture stars Timothée Chalamet, portraying a fictional table tennis player inspired by a real table tennis professional, Marty Reisman.
—
Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Performed by the fictional group HUNTR/X -- voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami -- the song was also Grammy-nominated for song of the year.
—Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
Just like in the 1987 edition, the fresh take is set at the fictional HBCU Hillman College.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026
The team graded whether responses assisted the user with finding target locations and sourcing weaponry, refused to assist the user, or tried to assist but failed to provide actionable information, such as providing fictional addresses.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Performed by the fictional group HUNTR/X -- voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami -- the song was also Grammy-nominated for song of the year.
—Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
Just like in the 1987 edition, the fresh take is set at the fictional HBCU Hillman College.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026
The team graded whether responses assisted the user with finding target locations and sourcing weaponry, refused to assist the user, or tried to assist but failed to provide actionable information, such as providing fictional addresses.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fictional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fictional
Adjective
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The cartoon’s title character’s appearance was based on the movie star Rita Hayworth, and surrounded by a varied cast of colorful co-workers to populate the fictitious Chicago newsroom where Brenda was employed.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
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Philadelphia courts issued a fraud alert Saturday about fictitious text messages that appear to come from the city's traffic division.—
Terra Sullivan,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Draw an imaginary line between the two and follow it out into space for roughly the same distance again.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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What better way to cap our season-long coverage of a conference that doesn’t exist than to hand out imaginary awards?—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Hill compared Chamberlain to a Paul Bunyon-type, a mythical figure in sports in large part because there's little video of his playing heyday.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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Celebrate all things Irish, rock out to four bands, watch a musical that intertwines two mythic tales, see a Baltimore cult classic at the Senator Theatre and listen to a soulful tribute to R&B legends.—
John Coffren,
Baltimore Sun,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Paintings around the room place the sculptures in imagined settings, and some scenes are accompanied by silhouetted figures, which act as a conduit for the viewer to project themself into the dreamscape of a past world or bizarre future.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
11 Mar. 2026
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Humans Must Stay in the Driver’s Seat William’s question was never hypothetical nor an imagined coup.—
Victoria Bousis,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fictional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fictional. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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