fictitious

[fik-tish-uhs] / fɪkˈtɪʃ əs /

ADJECTIVE

untrue, made-up

Synonyms

STRONGEST

apocryphal bogus counterfeit fabricated false fanciful fictional imaginary make believe misleading mythical phony sham spurious

WEAK

artificial assumed chimerical concocted cooked-up created deceptive delusive delusory dishonest ersatz factitious fake faked fantastic fashioned feigned fictive figmental hyped-up illusory imagined improvised invented made mock romantic simulated suppositious supposititious synthetic trumped-up unreal

Antonyms

STRONGEST

authentic factual genuine honest real sincere true truthful

WEAK

actual certain confirmed proven sure

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She did concede, however, that the fictitious citations “‘may have’ come from her use of AI tools,” Buchanan noted.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

One particularly active fake profile used the name "Kevin Zhang", claiming to be the head of a fictitious Hong Kong-based firm called "Oriental Consulting", the security source told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

The report said that there were around one million cars on the road which had been registered by nearly 300 "fictitious companies operating totally free of state control".

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

In one experiment, the researchers showed 27,830 Facebook users an ad for a fictitious electronic store in which the store either denied or embraced a one-star review.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

He was tell and thin, and wore his coats padded, which gave a fictitious breadth and depth to his shoulders and chest.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

Vocabulary lists containing fictitious

Commonly Confused Words, List 1

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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"

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The Pigman

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