semifictional
ʃən noun
1.
the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form.
2.
works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.
3.
something feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story: We've all heard the fiction of her being in delicate health.
4.
the act of feigning, inventing, or imagining.
5.
an imaginary thing or event, postulated for the purposes of argument or explanation.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fictiōn- (stem of fictiō) a shaping, hence a feigning, fiction, equivalent to fict(us) molded (past participle of fingere) + -iōn- -ion
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fictiōn- (stem of fictiō) a shaping, hence a feigning, fiction, equivalent to fict(us) molded (past participle of fingere) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
fic·tion·al, adjective
fic·tion·al·ly, adverb
pro·fic·tion, adjective
sem·i·fic·tion, noun
sem·i·fic·tion·al, adjective
Can be confused: 1. facetious, factious, factitious, fictional, fictitious ; 2. factitious, fictional, fictitious, fictive.
Synonyms
3. fable, fantasy. Fiction, fabrication, figment suggest a story that is without basis in reality. Fiction suggests a story invented and fashioned either to entertain or to deceive: clever fiction; pure fiction. Fabrication applies particularly to a false but carefully invented statement or series of statements, in which some truth is sometimes interwoven, the whole usually intended to deceive: fabrications to lure speculators. Figment applies to a tale, idea, or statement often made up to explain, justify, or glorify oneself: His rich uncle was a figment of his imagination.
3. fable, fantasy. Fiction, fabrication, figment suggest a story that is without basis in reality. Fiction suggests a story invented and fashioned either to entertain or to deceive: clever fiction; pure fiction. Fabrication applies particularly to a false but carefully invented statement or series of statements, in which some truth is sometimes interwoven, the whole usually intended to deceive: fabrications to lure speculators. Figment applies to a tale, idea, or statement often made up to explain, justify, or glorify oneself: His rich uncle was a figment of his imagination.
Antonyms
3. fact.
3. fact.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To semifictional
00:10
Semifictional
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
fiction (ˈfɪkʃən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | literary works invented by the imagination, such as novels or short stories |
| 2. | an invented story or explanation; lie |
| 3. | the act of inventing a story or explanation |
| 4. | law something assumed to be true for the sake of convenience, though probably false |
| [C14: from Latin fictiō a fashioning, hence something imaginary, from fingere to shape] | |
| 'fictional | |
| —adj | |
| 'fictionally | |
| —adv | |
| fiction'eer | |
| —n | |
| 'fictionist | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fiction
late 14c., "something invented," from L. fictionem (nom. fictio) "a fashioning or feigning," from fingere "to shape, form, devise, feign," originally "to knead, form out of clay," from PIE *dheigh- (cf. O.E. dag "dough;" see dough). As a type of literature, 1590s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
fiction definition
Literature that is a work of the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. Some examples of modern works of fiction are The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
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