nonfiction

[ non-fik-shuhn ]

noun

1. the branch of literature comprising works of narrative prose dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, including biography, history, and the essay ( fiction and poetry and drama ).
2. works of this class:

   She had read all of his novels but none of his nonfiction.

3. (especially in cataloging books, as in a library or bookstore) all writing or books not fiction, poetry, or drama, including nonfictive narrative prose and reference works; the broadest category of written works.

nonfiction

/ ˌnɒnˈfɪkʃən /

noun

1. writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration
2. modifier relating to or denoting nonfiction

Derived Forms

• nonˈfictionally, adverb
• nonˈfictional, adjective

Other Words From

• non·fiction·al adjective
• non·fiction·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonfiction¹

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + fiction

Example Sentences

Her nonfiction has been published in “Tin House,” “Essay Daily” and other publications.

From Washington Blade

From serious social commentary to truffle-hunting dogs, nonfiction movies are as vibrant and vital as ever.

From Vox

This nonfiction doorstop from the ’80s might be languishing in the back of your local used bookstore.

From Ozy

This is actually not a self-help or nonfiction book, but the book that resonates for me is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

From Fortune

Her previous book, Cure, hit the New York Times best-seller hardcover nonfiction and science lists.

From Nautilus

I was writing Lorrie Moore knock-off short stories before I switched to nonfiction.

From The Daily Beast

Excerpted from The Getaway Car: A Donald Westlake Nonfiction Miscellany.

From The Daily Beast

Ten more nonfiction books, including the stunning memoir Leaving Birmingham (1993), followed it.

From The Daily Beast

Countless essays, works of journalism, and touchstones of narrative nonfiction have shown us otherwise.

From The Daily Beast

But what I find most compelling about Cole is not the ways he escapes the novel, but the ways he escapes nonfiction.

From The Daily Beast

He read nonfiction almost entirely and mainly historical works.

From Project Gutenberg

In addition, a large library of books on fiction and nonfiction subjects is maintained.

From Project Gutenberg

A chemical compound of highly impressionistic autobiographic nonfiction and highly romantic fiction and folk tales.

From Project Gutenberg

Whether fiction or nonfiction, as claimed by the author, this book realizes the relationships between Plains Indian and buffalo.

From Project Gutenberg

In the best of her fiction she is truer to life than he is in a good part of his nonfiction.

From Project Gutenberg