as in fantasies
something that is the product of the imagination
most stories about famous outlaws of the Old West are fictions that have little or nothing to do with fact
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Recent Examples of fictions
But these have always been legal fictions.
—
Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
The vast encyclopedic architecture of Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) or Mason & Dixon (1997) gives way here to a series of detective fictions each set in a distinct historical moment, each featuring a reluctant investigator sifting through the wreckage of cultural paranoia.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
The fictions that result, many so small and meaningless, can be accepted without much trouble.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
Worries about fictions created by artificial intelligence used to prepare legal documents have plagued the legal community for the past few years, as the public’s infatuation with the generative technology has grown.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Nov. 2025
This isn’t just shot in black-and-white, thus resembling the 1960 meta-commentary on American crime thrillers and pulp fictions in all its monochromatic glory.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
The End, the past year has seen a surge in speculative fictions about super-rich characters who hunker down in expensive isolation as the world burns.
—Judy Berman, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
It is rooted in the dehumanizing language and convenient fictions that precede acts of violence.
—Brad Braxton, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Paranoia-inducing fictions like Wells’s aside, the public came to view Martians not as monsters but as representatives of a higher civilization—as angels, even, at a time when new science was shaking old religious certainties.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
The vast encyclopedic architecture of Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) or Mason & Dixon (1997) gives way here to a series of detective fictions each set in a distinct historical moment, each featuring a reluctant investigator sifting through the wreckage of cultural paranoia.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
The fictions that result, many so small and meaningless, can be accepted without much trouble.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
Worries about fictions created by artificial intelligence used to prepare legal documents have plagued the legal community for the past few years, as the public’s infatuation with the generative technology has grown.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Nov. 2025
This isn’t just shot in black-and-white, thus resembling the 1960 meta-commentary on American crime thrillers and pulp fictions in all its monochromatic glory.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
The End, the past year has seen a surge in speculative fictions about super-rich characters who hunker down in expensive isolation as the world burns.
—Judy Berman, Time, 19 Sep. 2025
It is rooted in the dehumanizing language and convenient fictions that precede acts of violence.
—Brad Braxton, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Paranoia-inducing fictions like Wells’s aside, the public came to view Martians not as monsters but as representatives of a higher civilization—as angels, even, at a time when new science was shaking old religious certainties.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fictions
Noun
-
My very specific fantasies about the Iran of the future are my way of keeping the political imagination alive and open.—
Arash Azizi,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
-
There is no shortage of opportunities for children, particularly Black and brown ones, to be disabused of their fantasies.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Join me each week for these and other tales about Des Moines' and Iowa's surprisingly colorful past.—
Bill Steiden,
Des Moines Register,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Rockrohr used both sides of this visual coin, telling of groundwork done by the late Harry Teshima to bring Black residents into the community and tales of lasting friendships and stories of insults thrown at Black students.—
Jerry Shnay,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The jury winners this year hail from Mexico, India, Belgium, Japan, France, Italy and Germany, and their stories are set in scenic locales from Malaysia to Minneapolis.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
14 Feb. 2026
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This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight.—
Rafaela Jinich,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These were modern inventions made possible by the introduction of railroads to transport prisoners long distances from battlefields, and by the growth of administrative and organizational structures required to manage not just mass armies but hundreds of thousands of prisoners.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Author Murray Olderman argued in his book The Pro Quarterback that the modern T Formation came out of the National Recovery Administration in 1933, one of several inventions intended to create excitement and lift the country out of the Depression.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Animated family films have been a staple of entertainment culture for nearly a century and offer a rich catalog of adventures, fables, fairy tales and dramas.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Or throw it back with some age-old fables or fairy tales.—
Maya Silver,
Outside,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These partnerships inspired the company to expand their creative vision of how their fabrications can be showcased.—
Emily Mercer,
Footwear News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Stretch shifts Despite buzz about the return of the skinny jean, the market has not reverted to high-stretch fabrications.—
Sarah Jones,
Sourcing Journal,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Heather Rose is the Australian author of seven novels including her latest novel The Museum of Modern Love published this month by Algonquin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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Later novels routinely took inspiration from family members or former or current lovers; the 1980 novel that baffled Frank Kermode is a dreamlike fable about a man guiltily trying to have an extramarital affair.—
Christopher Tayler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Boone is relentlessly hounded by figments of his guilty memory, by other ghosts, and by his daughter—all of whom emphasize his nefarious role in delaying action to combat climate change.—
Julius Taranto,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
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On the live stream, Nacua questioned whether head injuries are real or just figments of the imagination.—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fictions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fictions. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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