fiction
FIK-shun
/ˈfɪk.ʃən/
Literature in the form of prose that describes imaginary events and people, or something that is invented and untrue.
Implies creative invention or deliberate fabrication, ranging from literary novels to complete untruths.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'fictio', meaning a shaping or feigning, derived from 'fingere' (to mold out of clay). Originally describing physical sculpting, it shifted metaphorically to shaping imaginative stories in medieval Latin and Anglo-French before entering English.
Word relationships
- invention: 'Invention' emphasizes the act of creating something new, whereas 'fiction' emphasizes the imagined story.
- fabrication: 'Fabrication' usually carries a negative connotation of lying, while 'fiction' can be artistic artifice.
- non-fiction: Non-fiction consists of factual accounts based on real events.
- fact: Fact represents verified reality.
Commonly confused with
- myth: A myth is a traditional symbolic story explaining worldviews, while fiction is a general term for invented prose stories.
Word family
- fictional (adjective): Existing only in fiction.
- fictionalize (verb): To turn real events into a fictional account.
Collocations
- works of fiction
- pure fiction
- literary fiction
- stranger than fiction
Idioms & expressions
- fact or fiction
- truth is stranger than fiction
Example sentences
- "The bookstore organized its second floor with historical fiction on the left and contemporary works on the right." Publishing
- "His testimony was revealed to be complete fiction under cross-examination." General Usage
Memory hook
FICTION is FORGED in the mind. Fiction is framed from imagination.
When not to use
Do not confuse fiction with poetry; poetry can be fictional, but 'fiction' as a genre label usually implies prose narrative.
Fun facts
- The word 'figure' comes from the same Latin root 'fingere' — both involve shaping something out of nothing.
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