fictional

adjective

ˈfik-shnəl How to pronounce fictional (audio)
Definition of fictionalnext
as in fictitious
not real and existing only in the imagination the events in the horror movie seemed so real to some fans that they could not believe that the whole thing was fictional

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fictional And while Astronaut Amy and her super co-stars live in Marvel's fictional universe, Calandrelli's inclusion in the episode creates the opportunity to introduce some real-life scientific concepts. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026 What did Percherette think of her fictional contemporaries, those who lived in the Austen novels, dreaming of love? — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026 Maybe the fictional Browns on The Land will do better than the real ones. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026 While the sharp tailoring is the center of Russell and her character Kate Wyler’s Venn diagram, Russell takes a loucher approach than her fictional ambassador alter-ego. — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fictional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fictional
  1. fictitious
  2. imaginary
  3. mythical
  4. imagined
Adjective
  • The series will be set in a fictitious Barneys in Beverly Hills, not New York, and the real founding family of the retailer, the Pressman family, has no involvement, the spokesperson said.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Dempsey appeared in Disney’s fantasy romance Enchanted (2007) as Robert Philip, a New York divorce lawyer whose orderly life is disrupted by the arrival of a fairy-tale princess (played by Amy Adams) from the fictitious land of Andalasia.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of fictitious
Adjective
  • The wealth tax opponents have applied the age-old technique of mustering superficially plausible, but largely imaginary, consequences of passage.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The genre gave him considerably more freedom to invent architectural settings, mixing classical ruins, waterways, and figures into elaborate imaginary landscapes.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Adjective
  • Waller is one of the NFL’s few mythical figures — one whose story precedes his stats, whose name supersedes his acclaim.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
  • With the season’s final two episodes not provided to critics, there’s no way to say yet whether The Lowdown achieves that mythical outcome of all mystery seasons, the Finale That Pulls It All Together.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mythical
Adjective
  • The second scenario in the speculative design research is built around an imagined service called Paren’t, which proposes to preserve a parent’s AI-powered postmortem presence for their child.
    — Lissa Soep, Vox, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Drawn to the tactile and familiar qualities of paper, Teo uses playful forms and visual metaphors to transform everyday subjects and construct whimsical, imagined worlds.
    — New York Times Games, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of imagined

Browse Nearby Words

fiction
fictional
fictionalized
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fictional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fictional. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All