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.

Kino’s hypocrisy stems from the same swamp as the original’s fictitious Dr. Gröss, whose lurid footage climaxed with a tsk-tsking screed against poverty, pollution and fascism as major contributors to the global death toll.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 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

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

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

I told him that I had left it at home by mistake, and casually recited a fictitious pass number.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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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