Like the common words fact and factual, factitious ultimately comes from the Latin verb facere, meaning "to do" or "to make." But in current use, factitious has little to do with things factual and true—in fact, …

FACTITIOUS definition: not spontaneous or natural; artificial; contrived. See examples of factitious used in a sentence.

Feb 11, 2026 · Factitious disorder, previously called Munchausen syndrome, is a serious mental health condition in which people deceive others by pretending to be sick. They do this by faking symptoms, …

Dec 1, 2024 · Factitious disorders happen when you pretend to be sick or have symptoms to make others believe you or someone in your care is ill.

A factitious disorder is a mental disorder in which a person, without a malingering motive, acts as if they have an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms, purely to attain (for …

Malingering and factitious disorders, where the symptoms are produced or feigned intentionally, are excluded.

factitious in American English (fækˈtɪʃəs ) adjective Origin: L facticius < pp. of facere, do 1 not natural, genuine, or spontaneous; forced or artificial

Definition of factitious adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Artificially created or developed. " Outside the fun house, a factitious talking horse gave instructions to those about to enter. " The restaurant’s dim lighting is factitious and helped by enormous shades that …

There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective factitious, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.