fictional

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈfɪkʃənəl/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Relating to or occurring in fiction; not real or true; imaginary or invented.; Of or pertaining to the genre of fiction as a literary form.; False or fabricated; not based on fact or reality.; Existing only in the imagination; not having any real existence.; Used as a legal or formal term to describe something assumed or supposed for the sake of argument or convenience.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more fictional Superlative: most fictional

Collocations

fictional characterfictional worldfictional universefictional narrativefictional storypurely fictional

Derivatives

fictionfictionallyfictionalizefictionalizationnonfictionalfictitious

Synonyms

imaginaryfictitiousinventedmade-upfabricatedunreal

Antonyms

realfactualactualnonfictional

Commonly confused

fictitious
EN: 'Fictitious' often implies something is false or fabricated with intent to deceive, while 'fictional' neutrally relates to works of creative fiction.
imaginary
EN: 'Imaginary' refers to anything existing only in the mind, while 'fictional' specifically relates to constructed narratives or creative works.

Spelling tips

EN: Do not confuse 'fictional' with 'fictitious'; they share a root but have different suffixes and slightly different connotations.

💬 Examples

  1. Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

  2. The author is best known for her fictional works rather than her essays.

  3. The witness was accused of providing a fictional account of the events.

  4. The children played in a fictional world of dragons and castles.

  5. The court treated the corporation as a fictional person for the purposes of the lawsuit.