Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not real or true; invented or imagined: Used to describe something that is created by the imagination and does not exist in reality.
   • Adopted in order to deceive; false: Used to describe something that is assumed or pretended, often to conceal the truth.

Examples of Usage

• Describing something invented:

  • The story is set in a fictitious town that doesn't appear on any map.
  • All the characters in the novel are fictitious.

• Describing something false or assumed:

  • He used a fictitious name when checking into the hotel.
  • The company was found to have fictitious assets on its balance sheet.

Advanced Usage

• "fictitious character": A person who exists only in a story, play, or film.

  • Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictitious characters in literature.

• "fictitious force" (Physics): In a non-inertial frame of reference, a force that appears to act on a mass but is a consequence of the frame's acceleration (e.g., centrifugal force).

  • The Coriolis effect is often described as a fictitious force.

Variants and Related Words

• Fiction (n): Literature in the form of prose, especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people. Also, something that is invented or untrue.

  • She writes science fiction.

• Fictional (adj): Relating to or occurring in fiction; invented for a story.

  • The fictional world of the book is richly detailed.
  • (Note: 'Fictional' is often interchangeable with 'fictitious' for invented things, but 'fictitious' is more commonly used for things that are deceitfully false.)

• Fictive (adj): Created by the imagination; not real. (A more formal synonym).

  • The artist works with fictive landscapes.

Synonyms

• Imaginary: Existing only in the imagination.
• Fabricated: Invented, typically with deceitful intent.
• False: Not according to truth or fact; incorrect.
• Assumed: Adopted as one's own; taken for granted.
• Sham: A thing that is not what it is purported to be.

Antonyms

• Real: Actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact.
• Genuine: Truly what something is said to be; authentic.
• Factual: Concerned with what is actually the case.
• Authentic: Of undisputed origin; genuine.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "Fictitious business name": A name under which a business operates that is not the legal name of the owner(s); also called a "doing business as" (DBA) name.

  • The sole proprietor registered a fictitious business name for her bakery.

• "Fictitious payee" (Law/Finance): A payee on a negotiable instrument who is not intended to have an interest in the instrument, potentially making it bearer paper.

  • The check was made payable to a fictitious payee, so it was treated as cash.

Adjective

1. adopted in order to deceive
   • an assumed name
   • an assumed cheerfulness
   • a fictitious address
   • fictive sympathy
   • a pretended interest
   • a put-on childish voice
   • sham modesty
2. formed or conceived by the imagination
   • a fabricated excuse for his absence
   • a fancied wrong
   • a fictional character