factitious

adjective

fak-ˈti-shəs How to pronounce factitious (audio)
Definition of factitiousnext
1
as in synthetic
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials presumably the statue is of factitious marble, because for that price you're not going to get the real stuff

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in false
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality the factitious friendliness shown by the beauty-pageant contestants to one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of factitious Another was shorting Valeant, the high-flyer with factitious revenue growth. — William Baldwin, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025 With this announcement, factitious (in my opinion) concerns about Amazon being behind in GenAI will be reduced big time. — Sandy Carter, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 Their connection to these was as factitious as their previous link to toothpaste. — David Mamet, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 Marc Feldman, the American psychiatrist who popularized the term Munchausen by internet, has noticed that most of the cases of factitious disorder that come to his attention involve women. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2021 Amidst this sad and factitious disorder what became clear was that political agendas were once again trumping facts. — Amir Husain, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2021 Almanacs aren’t always — and haven’t always been — so fastidiously factitious. — Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for factitious
  1. synthetic
  2. false
  3. faux
  4. unnatural
  5. artificial
  6. mock
  7. fake
  8. strained
Adjective
  • Friction also causes pilling, particularly on lower-quality synthetic bouclé, leaving small fiber balls on the surface.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
  • Each pair features the same 2000s-era mesh base and synthetic overlays seen on previous colorways, but the true highlight of the reintroduced Adrenaline GTS 10 lies within.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 21 July 2026
Definition of synthetic
Adjective
  • Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to stabbing four University of Idaho students to death and waived his right to appeal, is now seeking post-conviction relief by claiming his plea was false.
    — Chadd Cripe. Produced with AI assistance, Idaho Statesman, 30 July 2026
  • On Friday, Tench was arrested on 99 felony charges, which include 33 counts of bid-rigging, 33 of first-degree forgery and 33 of filing false documents.
    — Caroline Silva, AJC.com, 30 July 2026
Definition of false
Adjective
  • The earrings create a faux huggie effect by rounding and curving upward at the bottom.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
  • Below it, there’s a wide concave base with a drainage hole that’s ideal for faux flowers, real flowers, or decorative rocks.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 July 2026
Definition of faux
Adjective
  • This is a standard procedure for unnatural deaths in Jackson County, not necessarily an indication that a crime was committed or is suspected.
    — James Powel, USA Today, 22 July 2026
  • The Victorian era was awash in handwringing about the loss of male vigor (some of which was blamed on the unnatural intellectual pursuits of women).
    — Elizabeth Dray, STAT, 21 July 2026
Definition of unnatural
Adjective
  • With the help of his students, Wangchuk froze stream water into conical artificial glaciers—or ice stupas—to store water during the winter and release it throughout the drier spring and summer.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026
  • Because unreliable weather patterns can make natural snow scarce, the resort relies on artificial snow to make skiing possible all winter long.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 July 2026
Definition of artificial
Adjective
  • The milestone comes after SpaceX has deployed mock satellites on previous tests and paves the way for the company to expand its Starlink network in the future by using Starship to deploy the technology.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 27 July 2026
  • The social media post opens with Kardashian standing behind a podium at a mock press conference as reporters pepper her with questions about her seemingly endless energy.
    — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 24 July 2026
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Multiple schools are at the center of incidents in which teens are facing legal consequences for generating fake explicit images of their classmates.
    — Avni Trivedi, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • Gen Alphas seem to know almost immediately when something is fake, overproduced, delayed or culturally disconnected, which is why the strongest content right now often feels chaotic.
    — Kelly Samuel, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of fake
Adjective
  • Yes, the excuses used to finally get them in the same frame together run the gamut from strained to getthefuckouttahere.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026
  • There is no frantic downshift, no strained exhaust note, and little sensation of mechanical effort.
    — Karl Brauer, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of strained

Browse Nearby Words

factious
factitious
factoid
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Factitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/factitious. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on factitious

Nglish: Translation of factitious for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of élan

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All