Factitious
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Created by humans; artificial.
"[...] if from erosion of the gums, by such things as restore them, strengthen and bind them; if wanting, it may be helped by the factitious; their ſordes are removed, by washing and cleaning them; and their blacknesse, by dentifrices."
- 2 Counterfeit, fabricated, fake.
"[…] To prevent a prisoner's escape, to prevent his suborning testimony, and arranging a factitious tale with those without, may justify many precautions.""
- 1 not produced by natural forces wordnet
Example
More examples"[...] if from erosion of the gums, by such things as restore them, strengthen and bind them; if wanting, it may be helped by the factitious; their ſordes are removed, by washing and cleaning them; and their blacknesse, by dentifrices."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin factītius (“artificial”), alternative form of factīcius, from faciō (“to make, do”). Doublet of fetish.
Related phrases
More for "factitious"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.