polite fiction

noun

A social scenario in which all participants are aware of a truth, but pretend to believe in some alternative version of events to avoid conflict or embarrassment.

“Susan is only able to deal with the fact that her husband has sex with the man down the street through a polite fiction. She knows what her husband is really doing when he says he is going "to buy cigarettes".”

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Meanings

nounpolite fiction (plural polite fictions)

plural polite fictions

  1. idiomaticA social scenario in which all participants are aware of a truth, but pretend to believe in some alternative version of events to avoid conflict or embarrassment.

    Susan is only able to deal with the fact that her husband has sex with the man down the street through a polite fiction. She knows what her husband is really doing when he says he is going "to buy cigarettes".

Cite this entry
APA

polite fiction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polite%20fiction

MLA

“polite fiction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polite%20fiction. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polite fiction,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polite%20fiction.

Source: polite fiction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.