Fictional means made up or invented rather than real. When you read a story about a wizard attending a magical school, that wizard is fictional because the author created that character from imagination. When you watch a movie about superheroes saving the world, those heroes are fictional because they exist only in the story, not in real life.

The opposite of fictional is real or actual. George Washington was a real person who lived in history, but Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Your best friend is real, but Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is fictional.

Writers create fictional characters, settings, and events to entertain us, teach us lessons, or help us see the world differently. Sometimes fictional stories feel so vivid and meaningful that the characters seem almost real. You might care deeply about what happens to a fictional character, even though you know they were invented by an author.

The noun form is fiction, which refers to stories, novels, and tales that come from imagination rather than factual reporting. When you visit the library, you'll often find separate sections for fiction and nonfiction. People sometimes say “that's pure fiction” when they think someone is making up an excuse or inventing a story that isn't true.