fictitious

Definitions

fict (a form of fac, 'make/fashion') + -itious (adj.) = 'made-up.' Latin fingere/fictum meant 'to shape, mold, fashion' — and by extension, to invent. Something fictitious has been fashioned by the imagination rather than found in reality. Same root sense as fiction.

Common Collocations

• 1.fictitious name假名
• 2.fictitious character虚构人物
• 3.fictitious account虚假账目
• 4.purely fictitious纯属虚构

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He gave the police a fictitious name and address.

• 2.

  All the characters in this novel are fictitious.

Easily Confused

fictitious vs. fictional: fictional = belonging to fiction/literature (a fictional detective in a novel); fictitious = fake, invented to deceive (a fictitious address on a form). A fictional character is art; a fictitious name is a lie.