Synonyms of fictitious

fictitious

adjective

fik-ˈti-shəs 

as in fictional

not real and existing only in the imagination

his wartime exploits turned out to be entirely fictitious, as he had never even been in the military

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fictional
• imaginary
• mythical
• imagined
• fantasied
• imaginal
• invented
• ideal
• phantom
• unreal
• make-believe
• fanciful
• chimerical
• phantasmal
• notional
• fantastic
• made-up
• theoretical
• pretend
• legendary
• hypothetical
• fabulous
• phantasmic
• romantic
• visionary
• unlikely
• fabled
• abstract
• fictive
• deceptive
• unbelievable
• unconvincing
• illusory
• hallucinatory
• envisioned
• phantasmagoric
• conceived
• nonexistent
• visualized
• delusive
• concocted
• fabricated
• pictured
• delusional
• envisaged
• feigned
• daydreamlike
• inexistent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• actual
• existing
• true
• genuine
• authentic
• existent
• factual
• realistic
• verifiable
• physical
• convincing
• substantial
• believable
• solid
• corporeal
• material
• tangible
• verified
• palpable

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fictitious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fictitious are apocryphal, fabulous, legendary, and mythical. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

When would apocryphal be a good substitute for fictitious?

The words apocryphal and fictitious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Where would fabulous be a reasonable alternative to fictitious?

The synonyms fabulous and fictitious are sometimes interchangeable, but fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

In what contexts can legendary take the place of fictitious?

Although the words legendary and fictitious have much in common, legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

When can mythical be used instead of fictitious?

While in some cases nearly identical to fictitious, mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fictitious

But the samurai genre already presupposes a fictitious otherworldly place, and everyday normalcy simply doesn’t exist there, Kurosawa said. — ABC News, 29 July 2026

Under federal law, persons who 'knowingly and willfully … make any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation' to Congress may be subject to penalties. — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 23 July 2026

The victim provided the service and was given a fictitious check as payment. — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 17 July 2026

The book traces the fictitious Yeoman family’s evolution over generations from self-sufficient homesteaders to participants in global markets. — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 23 June 2026

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!