fiction

noun

1)

the popularity of South American fiction

Syn:

novels, stories, (creative) writing, (prose) literature; informal lit

2)

the president dismissed the allegation as absolute fiction

Syn:

fabrication, invention, lies, fibs, untruth, falsehood, fantasy, nonsense

Ant:

fact

••

fiction, deception, fable, fabrication, falsehood, figment

If a young child tells you there is a dinosaur under his bed, you might assume that his story is a fiction, but it is probably a figment. A fiction is a story that is invented either to entertain or to deceive (her excuse was ingenious, but it was pure fiction), while figment suggests the operation of fancy or imagination (a figment of his imagination). If a child hides his sandwich under the sofa cushions and tells you that a dinosaur ate it, this would be a fabrication, which is a story that is intended to deceive. Unlike a figment, which is mostly imagined, a fabrication is a false but thoughtfully constructed story in which some truth is often interwoven (the city's safety record was a fabrication designed to lure tourists downtown). A falsehood is basically a lie — a statement or story that one knows to be false but tells with intent to deceive (a deliberate falsehood about where the money had come from). A deception, on the other hand, is an act that deceives but not always intentionally (a foolish deception designed to prevent her parents from worrying). A fable is a fictitious story that deals with events or situations that are clearly fantastic, impossible, or incredible. It often gives animals or inanimate objects the power to speak and conveys a lesson of practical wisdom, as in Aesop's Fables.