| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| factious, factitious, fictitious, fractious, frangible (adjs.) |
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| These adjectives have little in common but their vaguely similar sounds and spellings: someone or something factious is “causing dissension,” “causing people to break into factions,” as in Factious people always cause arguments. Fractious means “rebellious, unmanageable, irritable, hard to get along with,” as in At the end of a long day, a fractious child is especially hard to take. Factitious means “artificial, not natural,” as in The sudden demand for the toy was entirely factitious; once children had one, it bored them. Fictitious means “imaginary, false, made up,” as in She registered under a fictitious name. Both factitious and fictitious have an overtone of spuriousness. Frangible is a low-frequency word meaning “breakable.” All five adjectives are Standard. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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