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
Pretend and fictional are semantically related. in fictitious topic. In some cases you can use "Pretend" instead an adjective "Fictional".
Nearby Words: fiction, fictitious, fictionally, fictionalised
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Both words in one sentence
- Sometimes in a fictional story, a character will pretend to be sick (otherwise known as malingering).
Source: Playing Sick -
No Fourth Wall is about when the characters all know they're fictional and never pretend that they aren't.
Source: Square Peg, Round Trope - Note this is also a useful plot device so "fictional" stories can pretend to have really happened, it was just "covered up".
Source: Treachery Cover-Up
Cite this Source
Pretend and Fictional. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 18, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/pretend
Fictional & Pretend. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/pretend>.
Pretend or Fictional. 2016. Accessed August 18, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fictional/pretend.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fictional" and "pretend" have occurred on timeline