Fictionalize
verb
To change real events to make them suitable for a work of fiction or a book.
The director fictionalized the true story to make the movie more dramatic.
Often appears as...
- fictionalize a story
- fictionalize a character
verb
To create a fictitious version of a person or thing in a work of fiction.
The author fictionalized himself as the hero in his novel.
Often appears as...
- fictionalize oneself
- fictionalize facts
Usage tips
Literary
verb
To change real events to make them suitable for a work of fiction or a book.
The director fictionalized the true story to make the movie more dramatic.
Often appears as...
- fictionalize a story
- fictionalize a character
verb
To create a fictitious version of a person or thing in a work of fiction.
The author fictionalized himself as the hero in his novel.
Often appears as...
- fictionalize oneself
- fictionalize facts
Usage tips
Literary
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Dramatic Effect
Used when adding drama or intrigue to real events in stories or films.
She fictionalized the biography by adding an imaginary rivalry.
Pro Tip 2/3Creative License
Authors take liberties to modify facts for narrative purposes.
The screenwriter fictionalized the timeline to enhance the plot's flow.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Deceptive
Not meant to trick but to craft a compelling story.
Though the events were fictionalized, the core message remained true.
Pro Tip 1/3Dramatic Effect
Used when adding drama or intrigue to real events in stories or films.
She fictionalized the biography by adding an imaginary rivalry.
Pro Tip 2/3Creative License
Authors take liberties to modify facts for narrative purposes.
The screenwriter fictionalized the timeline to enhance the plot's flow.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Deceptive
Not meant to trick but to craft a compelling story.
Though the events were fictionalized, the core message remained true.
Pro Tip 1/3Dramatic Effect
Used when adding drama or intrigue to real events in stories or films.
She fictionalized the biography by adding an imaginary rivalry.
Pro Tip 2/3Creative License
Authors take liberties to modify facts for narrative purposes.
The screenwriter fictionalized the timeline to enhance the plot's flow.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Deceptive
Not meant to trick but to craft a compelling story.
Though the events were fictionalized, the core message remained true.
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Video examples
How one tweet can ruin...
to tear apart pretty much anybody we choose to. It's becoming a devalued term, and it's making us lose our capacity for empathy and for distinguishing between serious and unserious transgressions. Justine had 170 Twitter followers, and so to make it work, she had to be fictionalized.
Video examples
Why should you read...
against her characters' external existences. In her novel "To the Lighthouse," mundane moments, like a dinner party, or losing a necklace trigger psychological revelations in the lives of the Ramsay's, a fictionalized version of Woolf's family growing up.
Video examples
Culture Heroes: Corine...
that kind of, in a fictionalized way, devoted itself to talking about the Monuments Men and these were really my heroes. When I was in grad school studying art history and also serving as a young military officer and I thought wow, that's pretty cool.
Video examples
How one tweet can ruin...
to tear apart pretty much anybody we choose to. It's becoming a devalued term, and it's making us lose our capacity for empathy and for distinguishing between serious and unserious transgressions. Justine had 170 Twitter followers, and so to make it work, she had to be fictionalized.
Video examples
Why should you read...
against her characters' external existences. In her novel "To the Lighthouse," mundane moments, like a dinner party, or losing a necklace trigger psychological revelations in the lives of the Ramsay's, a fictionalized version of Woolf's family growing up.
Video examples
Culture Heroes: Corine...
that kind of, in a fictionalized way, devoted itself to talking about the Monuments Men and these were really my heroes. When I was in grad school studying art history and also serving as a young military officer and I thought wow, that's pretty cool.
Example 1 of 3
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
There's basically an element of fiction in everything you remember. Imagination and memory are almost the same brain processes. When I write fiction, I know that I'm using a bunch of lies that I've made up to create some form of truth. When I write a memoir, I'm using true elements to create something that will always be somehow fictionalized.
Quote examples
Matthew Stover
American Novelist
Perhaps the most significant thing George Lucas did in creating 'Star Wars' was to fictionalize the Tao - to spark a universe where we can talk about the Force in objective terms and show it in direct action.
Quote examples
Kit Harington
English Actor
I don't want people thinking they know me instead of the character. Steve McQueen has loads of stories about him - who knows what's true? But it's great for people to fictionalize rather than know the truth.
Quote examples
Junot Diaz
American Writer
I don't think I could have tackled 'The Pura Principle' until now. It takes me about twenty years to come to term with any difficult period in my life, to get enough of a grasp on it to fictionalize it.
Quote examples
Masaba Gupta
Indian Designer
Mom and I are playing fictionalized characters of ourselves in 'Masaba Masaba.' The series is a slice of our lives, and reliving key moments, even though fictionalized, took me down memory lane.
Quote examples
Sarah Weinman
American Journalist
When a novel is based on an actual crime, it should do much more than loosely fictionalize it. The novel must stand alone as a work of art that justifies using the story for its own purposes.
Quote examples
John Grisham
American Writer
I had never written anything. And I had never studied writing. So my motives were pure: I had a great story... a courtroom drama that I sort of fictionalized, and that became 'A Time to Kill.
Quote examples
Claire Danes
American Actress
It's very difficult to judge yourself. Extreme self-doubt is only attractive when it's fictionalized. Which is why people love the movies. They are so reassuring.
Quote examples
Lacey Chabert
American Actress
Playing a real-life character is definitely a lot more responsibility than one that is fictionalized.
Quote examples
Kristin Gore
American Author
I make things up for a living. It would be pretty boring to just fictionalize real people.
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
There's basically an element of fiction in everything you remember. Imagination and memory are almost the same brain processes. When I write fiction, I know that I'm using a bunch of lies that I've made up to create some form of truth. When I write a memoir, I'm using true elements to create something that will always be somehow fictionalized.
Quote examples
Matthew Stover
American Novelist
Perhaps the most significant thing George Lucas did in creating 'Star Wars' was to fictionalize the Tao - to spark a universe where we can talk about the Force in objective terms and show it in direct action.
Quote examples
Kit Harington
English Actor
I don't want people thinking they know me instead of the character. Steve McQueen has loads of stories about him - who knows what's true? But it's great for people to fictionalize rather than know the truth.
Quote examples
Junot Diaz
American Writer
I don't think I could have tackled 'The Pura Principle' until now. It takes me about twenty years to come to term with any difficult period in my life, to get enough of a grasp on it to fictionalize it.
Quote examples
Masaba Gupta
Indian Designer
Mom and I are playing fictionalized characters of ourselves in 'Masaba Masaba.' The series is a slice of our lives, and reliving key moments, even though fictionalized, took me down memory lane.
Quote examples
Sarah Weinman
American Journalist
When a novel is based on an actual crime, it should do much more than loosely fictionalize it. The novel must stand alone as a work of art that justifies using the story for its own purposes.
Quote examples
John Grisham
American Writer
I had never written anything. And I had never studied writing. So my motives were pure: I had a great story... a courtroom drama that I sort of fictionalized, and that became 'A Time to Kill.
Quote examples
Claire Danes
American Actress
It's very difficult to judge yourself. Extreme self-doubt is only attractive when it's fictionalized. Which is why people love the movies. They are so reassuring.
Quote examples
Lacey Chabert
American Actress
Playing a real-life character is definitely a lot more responsibility than one that is fictionalized.
Quote examples
Kristin Gore
American Author
I make things up for a living. It would be pretty boring to just fictionalize real people.
Example 1 of 10
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