fictionalize

UK/ˈfɪk.ʃən.əl.aɪz/

fictionalize verb: 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).

Verb

fictionalize (third-person singular simple present fictionalizes, present participle fictionalizing, simple past and past participle fictionalized)

(transitive) 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]
1. (transitive) To convert (something) real into a novel or other dramatic work.

Forms of fictionalize

third-person singular present	fictionalizes
present participle	fictionalizing
past participle	fictionalized
past	fictionalized
alternative form	fictionalise

Origin of fictionalize

From fictional + -ize.

Words formed from fictionalize

Questions about fictionalize

What does fictionalize mean?: Fictionalize means 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).
What part of speech is fictionalize?: Fictionalize is a verb.
How do you pronounce fictionalize?: Fictionalize is pronounced /ˈfɪk.ʃən.əl.aɪz/ (UK).
What is the past tense of fictionalize?: The past tense of fictionalize is fictionalized.

Words near fictionalize in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: fictionalize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “fictionalize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fictionalize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.