fictionary

1. not comparableFictional.

   Showing a lady into a library in which were alcoves, the books being arranged by subjects, he said, "Now, Miss Mary, I will show you the concave^([sic]) of fictionary novels."'

   1907, Kemp Plummer Battle, History of the University of North Carolina: From its beginning to the death of President Swain, 1789-1868, volume 1, page 574

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   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.

   1853, Mary Anna Needell, Ada Gresham, page 53

   Lastly, there were not a few scholars who, discarding the idea that myths were purely fictionary, and admitting a basis of reality, yet found that basis not in historical occurrence but in natural phenomena.

   1869, The Cornhill Magazine, Volume XIX: January to June, 1869, page 37

   Omitting, for the occasion, all thought of Anglo-Saxon literary remains, histories, chronicles, theological, fictionary, and scientific works, the entire number of documentary evidences, such as charters, wills, etc., of the Saxon period in England is very limited.

   1882, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 38, page 53

plural fictionaries · alternative Fictionary

1. countableuncountableA 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.

   One of our favorites is Fictionary, which we play on holidays or during storms.

   2007, David Elkind, The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally, page 190

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

   2001, Susannah Seton, 365 Simple Pleasures, page 14

   Turns out, it's reminiscent of the game of Fictionary that was the hit of a recent Thanksgiving at my home (see below).

   2010, Wanda Urbanska, The Heart of Simple Living: 7 Paths to a Better Life, page 223

2. countablerareA dictionary with contrived entries.

   From anemoia to zagreb: how ‘fictionaries’ are liberating the word [title]

   2019 May 27, Eley Williams, “From anemoia to zagreb: how ‘fictionaries’ are liberating the word”, in The Guardian

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

   1980, Gyles Daubeney Brandreth, The Joy of Lex: How to Have Fun with 860,341,500 Words, New York: Morrow, →ISBN, page 269