fictive

adjective

fic·​tive ˈfik-tiv 

1

: not genuine : feigned

2

: of, relating to, or capable of imaginative creation

3

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of fiction : fictional

fictively adverb

fictiveness noun

Examples of fictive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Set at the outbreak of World War I, this fictive tale of invading German forces wreaking havoc in the Belgian countryside depicts just one arena for violence in a conflict that would drag on for another four years. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Aug. 2024

But finally this fictive mystery doesn’t say much about homelessness or anything else, wasting its offbeat setting on a supernatural denouement that boasts two major twists. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 1 Aug. 2024

Relative or fictive caregivers can also apply to the Cabinet of Health and Family Services to become foster parents for a child removed from a home. —Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 12 July 2024

This is not so much an answer as a finger-fly-up-from-the-font sprinkle of the fictive water. —Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 24 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin fictīvus "imaginative, imaginary," from Latin fictus, past participle of fingere "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, pretend to be" + -īvus -ive — more at feign

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1