Meanings
nounfictionalism (countable and uncountable, plural fictionalisms)
plural fictionalisms
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe doctrine that certain concepts are simply convenient fictions
But it seems to me that modal fictionalism is also incredible: normally we do not think that there are countless theories and stories besides the ones we will ever tell, much less that they are infinitely complex and infinitely long and so that it would be humanly impossible to tell them.
2007 July 17, Chris John Daly, “Fictionalism and the attitudes”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 139, number 3, →DOI
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeyǵʰ-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰinéǵʰti
- Proto-Italic*θingō
- Proto-Italic*fingō
- Latinfingō
- Latinfictiō
- Old Frenchficcion
- Middle Englishficcioun
- Englishfiction
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishfictional
- Englishfictionalism
Cite this entry
APA
fictionalism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fictionalism
MLA
“fictionalism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fictionalism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fictionalism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fictionalism.
Source: fictionalism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.