Meaning & use
fictitious
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Made up and not real, especially in a story, or invented to look true.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or after 'be': a fictitious name, the character is fictitious.
Patterns
- a fictitious name
- entirely fictitious
All characters in the novel are entirely fictitious.
He gave the hotel a fictitious name.
The town in the book is fictitious.
adjectivebefore a nounlegal
Created to deceive, such as false claims, names or documents.
Grammar: Suggests deliberate falsehood: a fictitious invoice.
Patterns
- a fictitious invoice
- fictitious claims
Police found a fictitious company set up to hide money.
She submitted fictitious expenses.
The scammer used a fictitious address.
Common combinations
- entirely fictitious
- The people in the film are entirely fictitious.
- a fictitious name
- He booked the room under a fictitious name.
- fictitious character
- Sherlock Holmes is a fictitious character.
- fictitious account
- The scammer opened a fictitious account.
- purely fictitious
- Any resemblance is purely fictitious.
Synonyms and how they differ
- imaginary
- Imaginary means existing only in the mind and is often used for creative or childlike things, but fictitious is more official.
- made-up
- Made-up is the casual version and often suggests lying.
- invented
- Invented says it was created and can be neutral, whereas fictitious stresses unreal.
- bogus
- Bogus is informal and always suggests fakery meant to deceive.
Opposites
Word family
- fiction noun
- stories about imaginary people and events
- fictional adjective
- belonging to a story, not real
- fictionalize verb
- to turn real events into a story
- fictitiously adverb
- in a made-up way
Commonly confused: fictitious or fictional?
fictitious vs fictional
Fictional describes things from stories, and is neutral. Fictitious often suggests a made-up thing used to mislead.
Practice
The fraudster used a ___ name when he opened the bank account.
Choose one answer.
Fictitious describes a made-up name used to deceive. Fictional fits stories, fiction is a noun, and factual means true.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fictitious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.