Fictional and Imaginary

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

Imaginary is a synonym for fictional in fictitious topic. In some cases you can use "Imaginary" instead an adjective "Fictional". popular alternative

Nearby Words: fiction, fictitious, fictionally, fictionalised

Imaginary

Imaginary adjective - Not real and existing only in the imagination.
Usage example: told by the psychologist that it was perfectly normal for their child to have an imaginary friend

Fictional is a synonym for imaginary in unreal topic. You can use "Fictional" instead an adjective "Imaginary", if it concerns topics such as fictitious. popular alternative

Nearby Words: imagination, imaginative

Both words in one sentence

  • Top-Heavy Guy In the The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episode "Paw and Order", the fictional/imaginary villain Nasty Jack is a bipedal horse with a massive chest and and arms but really tiny legs.
    Source: Top-Heavy Guy
  • Instead of being a long essay like most books of this kind, it is framed in the model of an imaginary symposium between a group of fictional characters.
  • Video Game / Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Martin Brown claims he only relishes his imaginary violence, because it's all just a film - only fictional.
Cite this Source
Imaginary and Fictional. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/imaginary
Fictional & Imaginary. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/imaginary>.
Imaginary or Fictional. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/imaginary.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fictional" and "imaginary" have occurred on timeline