fiction

American  

[fik-shuhn] / ˈfɪk ʃən /

noun

1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form.

2. works of this class, as novels or short stories.

   detective fiction.

3. something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

   We've all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.

   Synonyms:

   fantasy , fable

   Antonyms:

   fact

4. the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.

5. an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.

6. Law.  an allegation that a fact exists that is known not to exist, made by authority of law to bring a case within the operation of a rule of law.

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fiction British  

/ ˈfɪkʃən /

noun

1. literary works invented by the imagination, such as novels or short stories

2. an invented story or explanation; lie

3. the act of inventing a story or explanation

4. law something assumed to be true for the sake of convenience, though probably false

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fiction Cultural  

1. Literature that is a work of the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. Some examples of modern works of fiction are The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.

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Related Words

Fiction, fabrication, figment suggest a story that is without basis in reality. Fiction suggests a story invented and fashioned either to entertain or to deceive: clever fiction; pure fiction. Fabrication applies particularly to a false but carefully invented statement or series of statements, in which some truth is sometimes interwoven, the whole usually intended to deceive: fabrications to lure speculators. Figment applies to a tale, idea, or statement often made up to explain, justify, or glorify oneself: His rich uncle was a figment of his imagination.

Other Word Forms

• fictional adjective
• fictionally adverb
• fictioneer noun
• profiction adjective
• semifiction noun
• semifictional adjective
• semifictionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of fiction

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ficcio(u)n, from French, from Latin fictiōn- (stem of fictiō ) “a shaping,” hence “a feigning, fiction,” equivalent to fict(us) “molded” (past participle of fingere ) + -iōn- -ion; figment ( def. )

Example Sentences

The L.A. native did the impossible for someone who rarely delves into made-up stories because the real world is fantastical enough: She made me not just read fiction but enjoy it.

From Los Angeles Times

While political cartoonists have long created derogatory or lampoonish images of elected officials and candidates for public office, the political imagery that can be created by artificial intelligence blurs truth and fiction in unprecedented ways.

From Salon

Ms. Collinsworth provides few footnotes and no index, and at times veers close to the line between fiction and nonfiction.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her fiction, so alive to sensory experience and the interior struggles of the mind and heart, helped extend the literary tradition of Virginia Woolf, a modernist whom Welty deeply admired.

From The Wall Street Journal

Science fiction bursts at the seams with bizarre extinction scenarios, usually delivered from space, like the one that precipitates Carol’s irritating life turn.

From Salon

Related Words

• book
• drama
• fable
• fantasy
• imagination
• legend
• myth
• narrative
• novel
• tale
• yarn