Synonyms for factitious
- adjective
Most common
Definitions
- adj. 1
Created by humans; artificial.
Choose the right word
Anything is unnatural when it departs in any way from its simple or normal state; it is factitious when it is wrought out or wrought up by labor and effort, as, a factitious excitement.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- artificial You can drink the juice since it's not artificial.
- unnatural This sentence sounds unnatural to me as an American.
- contrived He contrived a new engine that does not use gas.
- spurious His books were filled with spurious arguments.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| factitious | rising | |
| artificial | falling | |
| unnatural | rising | |
| contrived | steady | |
| spurious | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- unreal2
- 8 letters
- affected3, spurious3
- 9 letters
- unnatural4, contrived2
- 10 letters
- artificial4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (unreal2 = 2 syllables).