Fictionary

//ˈfɪkʃəˌnɛɹi// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A parlor game in which participants invent definitions for an unfamiliar word found in a dictionary, and as one person reads them out, the others try to guess which one is the correct definition. countable, uncountable

    "I generally hate playing games, but recently I was introduced to one that I think is actually fun: fictionary."

  2. 2
    A dictionary with contrived entries. countable, rare

    "Daffynitions appear in fictionaries, not dictionaries, and they add hidden dimensions to the words they describe."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Fictional. not-comparable

    "I used to spend my mornings in the large, deserted drawing-room, whose charm was not yet broken, inditing ardent letters, into which my whole soul undisguised, was breathed to an imaginary friend; or writing some fragmentary sketches of the life of some fictionary favourite of fortune, in whose fate I always foreshadowed my own."

Example

More examples

"I used to spend my mornings in the large, deserted drawing-room, whose charm was not yet broken, inditing ardent letters, into which my whole soul undisguised, was breathed to an imaginary friend; or writing some fragmentary sketches of the life of some fictionary favourite of fortune, in whose fate I always foreshadowed my own."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From fiction + -ary.

Etymology 2

Blend of fiction + dictionary.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.