adjective
factitious
fak-TISH-us/fækˈtɪʃəs/
Artificially produced or feigned rather than natural or genuine.
The factitious rose has fabric petals and a wire stem.
Etymology
Latin facticius described something artificial, made by art rather than occurring naturally. The English adjective preserves that contrast: the thing or quality has been produced, not simply found in nature.
In context
factitious disorder, which is also known as Munchausen syndrome. With this disorder, the individual exaggerates, fakes, or induces physical symptoms or psychological symptoms in order to get attention.
More examples
- Paid applause gives the television show a factitious air of excitement.
- The retailer creates factitious scarcity by hiding stock in its warehouse.
- Their factitious friendliness disappears as soon as the guests leave.
Forms
factitious
Similar words
- artificial
- The usual everyday choice for things such as imitation flowers.
- synthetic
- Usually describes manufactured materials or chemicals, such as nylon.
- contrived
- Emphasizes something forced or planned to produce a particular effect.