Fictional
Fictional adjective - Not real and existing only in the imagination.
Usage example: the events in the horror movie seemed so real to some fans that they could not believe that the whole thing was fictional
Nearby Words: fiction, fictitious, fictionally, fictionalised
Genuine
Genuine adjective - Existing in fact and not merely as a possibility.
Usage example: there's genuine value in learning how to do household repairs on one's own
Nearby Words: genuinely, genuineness
Both words in one sentence
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This trope covers two kinds of government agency, those that are entirely fictional, and current genuine agencies described in a fictional way.
Source: Government Agency of Fiction -
Square One TV had game show bits that were either genuine unscripted games or fictional games that were obviously skits.
Source: Undesirable Prize -
Likewise, most fictional priests nowadays tend to be child molesters or otherwise villainous, to the point where a genuine Good Shepherd is rare.
Source: Dead Horse Trope
Cite this Source
Genuine and Fictional. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 13, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/genuine
Fictional & Genuine. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/genuine>.
Genuine or Fictional. 2016. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/genuine.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fictional" and "genuine" have occurred on timeline