fictitious
Americanadjective
-
not genuine or authentic; assumed; false
to give a fictitious address
-
of, related to, or characteristic of fiction; created by the imagination
Usage
What’s the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive? Fictitious most commonly means false or made up, as in I signed in with a fictitious name to hide my identity. Fictional means invented as part of a work of fiction, as in Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective or This account is entirely fictional—it’s not based on a true story. Fictive is a much less commonly used word that means imaginary or relating to or capable of creating fiction, as in a fictive imagination.Confusingly, their meanings can overlap—fictitious can sometimes mean the same thing as fictional, and fictive can sometimes mean the same thing as fictitious. It can be tough to remember which word is the right one to use since all three are adjectives that are used in contexts involving things that are imagined or made up.Still, they are usually used in pretty specific ways. Fictitious is most commonly used in the context of things that are made up to conceal something or deceive someone in real life, whereas fictional is almost always applied to stories and characters that are part of creative works, like books and movies. Fictitious can usually be replaced with the word fake—this is not the case for fictional.Here’s an example of fictitious, fictional, and fictive used correctly in the same sentence.Example: Instead of using fictitious names that no one would notice, his aliases were the names of fictional characters, like Clark Kent and Peter Parker—you would think a con artist would have a more fictive imagination.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between fictitious, fictional, and fictive.
Other Word Forms
- fictitiously adverb
- fictitiousness noun
- half-fictitious adjective
- half-fictitiously adverb
- half-fictitiousness noun
- nonfictitious adjective
- nonfictitiously adverb
- nonfictitiousness noun
- quasi-fictitious adjective
- quasi-fictitiously adverb
- semifictitious adjective
- unfictitious adjective
- unfictitiously adverb
Etymology
Origin of fictitious
1605–15; from Latin fictīcius “artificial,” equivalent to fict(us) “shaped, feigned” ( fiction ) + -īcius -itious
Compare meaning
How does fictitious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The operation, allegedly orchestrated by Beijing's state security ministry, targeted dozens of employees at the military alliance or EU organisations through fictitious accounts, the source said, confirming reports in French and Belgian media.
From Barron's
The seemingly limitless proliferation of cases in which lawyers have been caught letting fictitious AI-generated legal citations contaminate their briefs continues to amaze.
From Los Angeles Times
I ask the photographer, from my perch at Theo’s desk, the one that I am supposed to be pretending is my own desk as I write fictitious letters to the boys on the front.
From Literature
The report said that there were around one million cars on the road which had been registered by nearly 300 "fictitious companies operating totally free of state control".
From BBC
There were several occasions when Gemini reminded Gavalas that it was a large language model—effectively an appliance—engaging in fictitious role play, according to the transcripts, but the scenario resumed.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
