fictionalize.
To retell (something) real (e.g., an event or series of events) as if it were fiction; especially, to do so in a way that departs from reality in any extent from mild to extensive (from minor details to essential substance).
Meaning & usage
To retell (something) real (e.g., an event or series of events) as if it were fiction; especially, to do so in a way that departs from reality in any extent from mild to extensive (from minor details to essential substance).
a lightly fictionalized account of [X]
To retell (something) real (e.g., an event or series of events) as if it were fiction; especially, to do so in a way that departs from reality in any extent from mild to extensive (from minor details to essential substance). To convert (something) real into a novel or other dramatic work.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *dʰinéǵʰti Proto-Italic *θingō Proto-Italic *fingōder. Latin fingō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin fictiōder. Old French ficcionbor. Middle English ficcioun English fiction Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English fictional Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English fictionalize From fictional + -ize.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.