Revision F

2022-03-15

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน - Set – F - factitious & fictitious

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Dictionary.com:

ออกเสียงfactitious = “fak-TISH-shuhs” 

ออกเสียง fictitious = “fik-TISH-uhs”

 

Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions:

factitious & fictitious

The basic meaning offactitious are

“artificial,” “contrived,” “not spontaneous”: 

“The centerpiece on the tabl was made of factitious leaves and flowers.”

‘'Many gadgets in the home are but factitious conveniences.”

Fictitious has a related meaning of “not real,” 

but it is more often applied to works of the imagination,

such as novels, plays, and stories: 

“His account of the experience was partly accurate and partly fictitious.

 

A factitious lawsuit is one that has been contrived with little basis in fact;

a fictitious lawsuit is one that has a completely imaginary basis.

Dictionary.com:

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH FACTITIOUS

1. facetiousfactiousfactitious

2. factitious , fictitious

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

factitious 

Did you know?

Like the common words fact and factual, 

factitious ultimately comes from the Latin verb facere

meaning "to do" or "to make." 

 

But in current use

factitious has little to do with things factual and true

in factfactitious often implies the opposite

The most immediate ancestor of factitious is the Latin adjective facticius

meaning "made by art" or "artificial." 

When English speakers 

first adopted the word as factitious in the 17th century

it meant "produced by human effort or skill

(rather than arising from nature). 

This meaning gave rise to such meanings 

as "artificial" and "false" or "feigned."

 

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree:

fictitious   = spurious, fakefictional

                   = created or assumed with the intention to conceal: 

                       a fictitious name; 

                  = imaginatively produced: 

                     a fictitious story

Not to be confused with:

Facetious – not to be taken seriously

                = amusinghumorousfrivolous: 

                   I was only being facetious.

factitious – artificialcontrived: 

                  His enthusiastic response was factitious.

                =  mademanufactured: 

a factitious part

 

Collins English Dictionary: 

ˈfactiously adv

ˈfactiousness n

Usage: Fractious is sometimes wrongly used where factious is meant

this factious (not fractiousdispute has split the party still further

 

Collins COBUID English Dictionary: 

fictional  – fictitious

1. 'fictional'

A fictional character, thing, 

or event occurs in a story, play, or film

and has never actually existed or happened.

I had to put myself into the position of lots of fictional characters.

...a musical about a fictional composer called Moony Shapiro.

Fictional also means 'relating to fiction and the telling of stories'.

James Joyce's final fictional experiment was a novel composed 

entirely of mathematical equations.

 

2. 'fictitious'

Something that is fictitious is false and is intended to deceive people.

They bought the materials under fictitious names.

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Choose the Right Synonym for fictitious

Fictitious, Fabulous, Legendary, Mythical, Apocryphal

mean having the nature of something imagined or invented.

Fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality 

or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.  

fictitious characters

Fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something 

without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.  

a land of fabulous riches

Legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details 

and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.  

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

Mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts 

or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.  

mythical creatures

Apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source 

or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.  

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories 

 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Did you know?

Fictitious is related to the Medieval Latin word fictīcius,

meaning "artificial," "imaginary," "feigned," or "fraudulent."

It was first used in English as an antonym for natural.

For instance, a fake diamond would be referred to as a fictitious one.

 

This use indicates the word's deeper Latin roots

fictīcius is from the Latin verb fingere,

meaning "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of; pretend to be." 

Nowadays, fictitious is no longer used for physical things shaped by the human hand

Rather, it is typically used for imaginative creations or for feigned emotions.

 

Dictionary.com:

FICTITIOUS VS. FICTIONAL VS. FICTIVE

What’s the difference between fictitiousfictional, and fictive?

Fictitious most commonly means false or made up

as in

 I signed in with a fictitious name to hide my identity

Fictional means invented as part of a work of fiction,

as in 

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective or 

This account is entirely fictional—it’s not based on a true story

Fictive is a much less commonly used word 

that means imaginary or relating to or capable of creating fiction

as in fictive imagination.

 

Confusingly, their meanings can overlap

fictitious can sometimes mean the same thing as fictional, 

and fictive can sometimes mean the same thing as fictitious. 

It can be tough to remember 

which word is the right one to use 

since all three are adjectives that are used 

in contexts involving things that are imagined or made up.

 

Still, they are usually used in pretty specific ways

Fictitious is most commonly used 

in the context of things that are made up 

to conceal something or deceive someone in real life

 

whereas fictional is almost always 

applied to stories and characters that are part of creative works

like books and movies

 

Fictitious can usually be replaced with the word fake

this is not the case for fictional.

 

Here’s an example of fictitiousfictional, and fictive 

used correctly in the same sentence.

Example: 

Instead of using fictitious names that no one would notice, 

his aliases were the names of fictional characters, 

like Clark Kent and Peter Parker

—you would think a con artist would have a more fictive imagination.

 

Dictionary.com:

Are Fictional, Fictitious, And Fictive Synonyms?

Published May 14, 2020

Although some people absolutely love reading true stories, 

there are others who have no interest in nonfiction books. 

Instead, they prefer to dive into stories from made-up universes 

instead of immersing themselves in facts. 

 

So do they prefer fictional novels, fictitious tales, or fictive stories?

All three of these adjectives look and sound similar

but are they synonyms that can be interchanged

The answer is yesdepending on the sentence; 

although these are different words

all three have close denotations that make them synonyms 

except for a few slight distinctions

Let’s take a look.

 

What does fictional mean?

Fictional is an adjective defined as 

invented as part of a work of fiction.”

For example,

Dr. Meredith Grey is a fictional character on a TV show 

and is not an actual medical provider

Fictional also means “of, like, or characterized by fiction.

In this case,

Tommy read a fictional story 

about monsters for his book report 

instead of studying a historical figure.

 

This word refers to things 

that are made up from imagination instead of the truth

Fictional was first recorded in 1840–45 and

is derived from the Latin verb fing?re 

(“to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, pretend to be”). 

Synonyms or fictional 

include fabricatedfancifulimaginaryimagined

made-upmake-believefictiveinvented, and fictitious.

 

What does fictitious mean?

Like fictional, 

fictitious means not genuine or false 

and is defined asof, relating to, or consisting of fiction

imaginatively produced orset forth; created by the imagination.” 

For example,

a fictitious stranger who needed help is a perfect excuse for being late.

However unlike fictional, 

this word isn’t just about make-believe or the imaginary

the intention behind the fabrication can be just as important

That’s because fictitious is also defined as 

created, taken, or assumed for the sake of concealment.” 

For example,

when they entered into the Witness Protection Program, 

the Smith family had to take on fictitious identities

and could never reveal who they really were.

 

Therefore, fictitious and fictional can be interchanged 

in circumstances referring to things that are made up or imaginary

But if the intention is to invent something in order to conceal the truth, then fictitious should be used and not fictional.

 

First originating in 1605–15, fictitious derives from the Latin word fict?cius 

meaning “artificial,” which can be traced back to fing?re, like fictional.

Synonyms or fictitious 

include apocryphalboguscounterfeitfabricatedfanciful, and imaginary.

 

What does fictive mean?

Lastly in this trio we have fictive

an adjective that is similar to fictional, 

as it means “pertaining to the creation of fiction.” 

However, it’s also defined as “a rare word for fictitious” 

and “fictitious; imaginary.”

That makes fictive a synonym for both fictional and fictitious 

as well as fabricatedfancifulimaginary, and imagined.

The first recorded use of fictive was in 1485–95, 

and it comes from the French adjective fictive (“invented”), 

which ultimately is derived from—you guessed it—fing?re.

Since fictive can describe both something that is not real

as well as an imaginative creation,

 it can replace both fictional and fictitious in a sentence. 

For example

to escape the horrors of his own reality

the little boy created a fictive (or fictional) world 

complete with an imaginary best friend.

 

In order to scam her classmates

she came up with a fictive (or fictitious) product to sell 

and collected their money before she “delivered” it.

 

How to use each word

It can be slightly confusing to know which word can be used 

in what sentences since fictional and fictive completely overlap

fictitious and fictive can be interchanged

but fictional and fictitious can only be swapped

depending on the intended meaning

So a general rule that completely simplifies this love triangle is:

  •  if the adjective is modifying a noun that’s a sham 

or created to mislead, then stick to fictitious.

  • That’s because fictive is less often used in the negative, scamming, sense and fictional never is.
  • For example

        although it may not have been her original intention

        Elizabeth Holmes had a phony product 

        that was delivering fictitious resultsto patients.

However, if the intended meaning is something 

that’s purely pretend or make believe 

without the negative implication of faking something 

in order to mislead, then all three options can be used.

 

Examples of this include:

  • When they were younger, the Smith siblings createdfictional (or fictitious, fictive) language that only they 

could understand and completely stumped their parents.

  • Although it was only depicting fictitious (or fictional, fictive) events, the episode’s cliffhanger had his heart beating and palms clammy from the suspense.

Although The Handmaid’s Tale is a fictive (or fictional, fictitious) story 

first published in 1985, 

the recent TV adaptation incorporates many elements 

that feel uncomfortably current and realistic to viewers.