fictional
/ˈfɪkʃənəl/adjective
fictional is spelled F-I-C-T-I-O-N-A-L: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, fictional means “Invented, as opposed to real” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fictional?
| Letters | 9: F-I-C-T-I-O-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fictional?
Fictional appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fictional?
- /ˈfɪkʃənəl/
Fictional has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fictional.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fictional
- more fictional comparative
- most fictional superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fictional mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Invented, as opposed to real.
Near-synonyms: fictitious, fake
- 2
Containing invented elements.
The Simpsons is a fictional television show.
- 3
Occurring in fiction.
- 4
Concerning fiction (as a genre or medium): having to do with fiction; specific to fiction.
fictional and nonfictional conventions
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fictional in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense invented, as opposed to real:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fictif |
| German | fiktiv, erfunden, ausgedacht |
| Portuguese | fictício |
| Spanish | ficticio, inventado, ficcional, fictivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.