Standard Lemma guide

fictional

adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈfɪkʃənəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F IH1 K SH AH0 N AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Invented, as opposed to real.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Romeo and Juliet are fictional characters.
  • The janitor's account of the crime turned out to be entirely fictional.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Containing invented elements.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The Simpsons is a fictional television show.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Occurring in fiction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

related to or involving literary fiction

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • clever fictional devices
  • a fictional treatment of the train robbery

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: nonfictional

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

formed or conceived by the imagination

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a fabricated excuse for his absence
  • a fancied wrong
  • a fictional character

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fabricated, fancied, fictitious

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dheyǵh- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *dhinéǵhti Proto-Italic *θingō Proto-Italic *fingōder. Latin fingō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin fictiōder. Old French ficcionbor. Middle English ficcioun English fiction English -al English fictional From fiction + -al.

Across languages

Translations

65 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: fiktiewe — invented, as opposed to real
  • Afrikaans: fiktief — invented, as opposed to real
  • Arabic: خَيَالِيّ (ḵayāliyy) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Arabic: مُتَخَيَّل (mutaḵayyal) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Belarusian: вы́думаны (výdumany) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Belarusian: фікты́ўны (fiktýwny) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Belarusian: выабража́льны (vyabražálʹny) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Bulgarian: изми́слен (izmíslen) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Bulgarian: въобра́жаем (vǎobrážaem) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Bulgarian: фикти́вен (fiktíven) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Catalan: ficcional — invented, as opposed to real
  • Czech: fiktivní — invented, as opposed to real
  • Czech: smyšlený — invented, as opposed to real
  • Danish: fiktiv — invented, as opposed to real
  • Danish: opdigtet — invented, as opposed to real
  • Dutch: fictief — invented, as opposed to real
  • Faroese: íspunnin — invented, as opposed to real
  • Faroese: uppspunnin — invented, as opposed to real
  • Faroese: fagurbókmentaligur — invented, as opposed to real
  • Finnish: kuvitteellinen — invented, as opposed to real
  • Finnish: fiktiivinen — invented, as opposed to real
  • French: fictif — invented, as opposed to real
  • Galician: ficticio — invented, as opposed to real
  • German: fiktiv — invented, as opposed to real
  • German: erfunden — invented, as opposed to real
  • German: ausgedacht — invented, as opposed to real
  • Greek: φανταστικός (fantastikós) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Hungarian: kitalált — invented, as opposed to real
  • Hungarian: fiktív — invented, as opposed to real
  • Icelandic: skáldskapar- — invented, as opposed to real
  • Icelandic: uppspunninn — invented, as opposed to real
  • Icelandic: skáldaður — invented, as opposed to real
  • Icelandic: tilbúinn — invented, as opposed to real
  • Icelandic: upploginn — invented, as opposed to real
  • Italian: immaginario — invented, as opposed to real
  • Italian: fittizio — invented, as opposed to real
  • Italian: inventato — invented, as opposed to real
  • Italian: finto — invented, as opposed to real
  • Macedonian: измислен (izmislen) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Macedonian: фиктивен (fiktiven) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Polish: fikcyjny — invented, as opposed to real
  • Polish: zmyślony — invented, as opposed to real
  • Portuguese: fictício — invented, as opposed to real
  • Russian: вы́мышленный (výmyšlennyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Russian: вы́думанный (výdumannyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Russian: фикти́вный (fiktívnyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Russian: вообража́емый (voobražájemyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Serbo-Croatian: ѝзмишљен — invented, as opposed to real
  • Serbo-Croatian: фѝктӣван — invented, as opposed to real
  • Serbo-Croatian: ìzmišljen — invented, as opposed to real
  • Serbo-Croatian: fìktīvan — invented, as opposed to real
  • Slovak: vymyslený — invented, as opposed to real
  • Slovak: fiktívny — invented, as opposed to real
  • Slovene: izmišljen — invented, as opposed to real
  • Slovene: fiktiven — invented, as opposed to real
  • Spanish: ficticio — invented, as opposed to real
  • Spanish: inventado — invented, as opposed to real
  • Spanish: ficcional — invented, as opposed to real
  • Spanish: fictivo — invented, as opposed to real
  • Swahili: -a kubuniwa — invented, as opposed to real
  • Swedish: fiktiv — invented, as opposed to real
  • Ukrainian: ви́гаданий (výhadanyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Ukrainian: ви́мишлений (výmyšlenyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Ukrainian: ви́думаний (výdumanyj) — invented, as opposed to real
  • Ukrainian: фікти́вний (fiktývnyj) — invented, as opposed to real
Real reading context

fictional in complete knowledge articles