fictitious

fictitious — adjective

1. created from imagination rather than from reality — people, places, events, or d

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

created from imagination rather than from reality — people, places, events, or details described as fictitious do not correspond to what actually exists or happened.

Example

The novel's main character, Lien, lives in the fictitious town of Willow Creek.

fictitious + place name (story setting)

The journalist discovered that several sources in the report had given fictitious names.

fictitious + noun (names/details in a document)

Common collocations
  • fictitious name
  • fictitious address
  • fictitious character
  • fictitious company
  • fictitious account
  • fictitious story
  • fictitious invoice
  • fictitious events
  • fictitious place
  • fictitious identity
  • entirely fictitious
  • purely fictitious
Synonyms
  • fictional

    Limited to works of imagination such as novels, films, and plays; less likely to imply deception.

  • made-up

    Informal; common in everyday speech for anything not real.

  • imaginary

    Exists only in the mind; often used for daydreams, fears, or pretend play rather than written accounts.

  • fabricated

    Stronger implication of deliberate lying; used for evidence, data, or alibis.

Antonyms
  • real

    Actually existing in the world, not invented.

  • genuine

    Authentic and not false; often used for documents, signatures, or feelings.

Grammar Patterns

fictitious + noun

be + fictitious

Usage Note

Commonly describes invented elements in stories (characters, places) as well as deliberately false information in real-world contexts (documents, records, identities). The word carries a neutral or creative tone when used about fiction, but a negative tone when it implies deception.

Common Mistakes

The novel is a fictitious story about a detective.
The novel is a fictional story about a detective.
'Fictional' is the standard adjective for works of creative writing; 'fictitious' leans toward deliberate falsehood in non-creative contexts.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe something that is not real, but they differ in tone and typical context. Fictitious is the broadest: it covers invented elements in creative works (a fictitious town) as well as deliberately false information in the real world (a fictitious invoice). Fictional is narrower and more neutral — it belongs almost exclusively to the world of books, films, and theatre; a fictional detective is a character in a story, not a real person pretending to be one. Imaginary refers to things that exist only in someone's mind, often with a personal or emotional dimension (an imaginary friend, an imaginary fear). Made-up is the informal, everyday alternative to both fictitious and imaginary — a child might have a made-up word for a secret game. Fabricated is the most negative: it strongly suggests intentional deception, especially in official or formal settings, such as fabricated evidence or a fabricated alibi. Choosing the right word depends on whether the context is creative, personal, informal, or accusatory.

fictitious ↗fictional ↗imaginary ↗made-upfabricated

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • entirely fictitious
  • purely fictitious
  • completely fictitious
  • obviously fictitious

Phrases

  • nothing more than fictitious
  • dismissed as fictitious
  • proved to be fictitious

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Fictitious comes from the Latin word ficticius, meaning 'artificial' or 'counterfeit,' which itself comes from fingere, meaning 'to shape, form, or invent.' The same root fingere gave English both fiction (something invented for a story) and figment (something imagined). The word entered English in the early 1600s, originally with the sense of 'counterfeit' before broadening to include anything made up.