as in historical
restricted to or based on fact
a nonfictional account of a disastrous ascent of Mount Everest
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Recent Examples of nonfictional
That delirious excess befits the essence of Lapid’s method, which is a fusion of fiction with indigestibly and irreducibly nonfictional elements.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
The days at the fictional Oak Canyon Ranch Retreat in the nonfictional Agoura Hills are loaded with incident — the retreat itself is essentially sleepaway camp, including pool time, games, a cookout, a talent show — and disasters.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
Significant experiment The effort is part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, a nonfictional experiment with detectors that will be immersed in huge baths of cryogenic liquid argon, which is going the opposite direction — down.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026
But what was more interesting to me are those who aren’t fantasizing about being in a fictional world, but who are fantasizing about being a different reader, in a more secure nonfictional world.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 13 Jan. 2026
Recently, this sacrament has garnered nonfictional attention.
—Timothy Gabrielli, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2025
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
The days at the fictional Oak Canyon Ranch Retreat in the nonfictional Agoura Hills are loaded with incident — the retreat itself is essentially sleepaway camp, including pool time, games, a cookout, a talent show — and disasters.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
Significant experiment The effort is part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, a nonfictional experiment with detectors that will be immersed in huge baths of cryogenic liquid argon, which is going the opposite direction — down.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Jan. 2026
But what was more interesting to me are those who aren’t fantasizing about being in a fictional world, but who are fantasizing about being a different reader, in a more secure nonfictional world.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 13 Jan. 2026
Recently, this sacrament has garnered nonfictional attention.
—Timothy Gabrielli, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonfictional
Adjective
-
Online and in podcasts, historical revisionism thrived.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Still, Platner will have to overcome historical precedent to beat Mills.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The latter rewards attention and can blame harmful content on users, while AI’s customers usually want factual information, often for business-critical decisions, and AI companies are on the hook for any errors their tools make.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
5 Apr. 2026
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In Australia, deaths from hepatitis C were almost halved compared with counter-factual estimates, and the program was found to be cost-saving over time.—
Michael Rose,
STAT,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Below, the biggest revelations from the documentary episode of the night that almost killed Odom.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2026
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This unique documentary-comedy hybrid is executive produced by Jessica Alba and stars Keyla Monterroso Mejia (The Studio, Curb Your Enthusiasm).—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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For example, there’s quite a bit of autopsy footage in Faces of Death — lots of literal getting under the skin, and also, in one of the movie’s more stomach-turning moments, having skin peeled back off a skull.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
On Thursday, the host of the reality competition show slipped into a silver minidress that looked like it was made of literal confetti.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nonfictional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonfictional. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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