Fictitious | Definition of fictitious by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of FICTITIOUS

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction : imaginary

2

a : conventionally or hypothetically assumed or accepted <a fictitious concept>

b of a name : false, assumed

3

: not genuinely felt

— fic·ti·tious·ly adverb

— fic·ti·tious·ness noun

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Origin of FICTITIOUS

Latin ficticius artificial, feigned, from fictus

First Known Use: circa 1633

Related to FICTITIOUS

Synonyms: chimerical (also chimeric), fabulous, fanciful, fantasied, fantastic (also fantastical), fictional, imaginary, ideal, imaginal, imagined, invented, made-up, make-believe, mythical (or mythic), notional, phantasmal, phantasmic, phantom, pretend, unreal, visonary

Antonyms: actual, existent, existing, real

Synonym Discussion of FICTITIOUS

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented. fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception <fictitious characters>. fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence <a land of fabulous riches>. legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition <the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett>. mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination <mythical creatures>. apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate <a book that repeats many apocryphal stories>.