fabricated

American  

[fab-ri-key-tid] / ˈfæb rɪˌkeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. made by art or skill and labor.

   For the staircases, the ceramics manufacturer supplied a specially fabricated porcelain tile resembling natural stone.

2. made by assembling parts or sections.

   Plywood is a fabricated wood board made of three or more panels of wood veneer laid one on top of another.

3. (of a lie, story, excuse, etc.) devised or invented.

   That is a wholly fabricated allegation without any foundation whatsoever.

4. faked or forged.

   Scientists reported that the fabricated fossil had been made up of parts of a primitive bird and a dinosaur, glued together by a farmer.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of fabricate.

Other Word Forms

• quasi-fabricated
  adjective
• unfabricated
  adjective
• well-fabricated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fabricated

First recorded in 1770–80; fabricate + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; fabricate + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Explanation

Something that's fabricated is faked or invented, like a fabricated story about how the dog ate your homework. Trust us, no one believes that. If a journalist uses fabricated quotes, it means he made them up, and if a police officer uses fabricated evidence, it means she deliberately planted or falsified it. Some fabricated things are literally manufactured, like the fabricated parts used to build a car. Both senses of this adjective come from the verb fabricate, "construct" or "make," and share a root with fabric that means "fit together."

Example Sentences

“She made up a story. Fabricated 100 percent, that I attacked her at Bergdorf Goodman,” Trump said.

From Salon • Sep. 6, 2024

Fabricated content is now “indistinguishable” from the real thing, and takes disinformation watchers experts a lot longer to debunk, said Romano.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024

"Fabricated images can derail stock markets, suppress voter turnout, and shake Americans' confidence in the authenticity of campaign material," he wrote.

From Reuters • Jun. 29, 2023

Fabricated media, they worried, would fall through the cracks.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2020

"Fabricated" is the technical term applied to ships built from numbered shapes made from patterns.

From History of the World War An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War by March, Francis Andrew

Related Words

• abstract
• distorted
• excessive
• extravagant
• false
• farfetched
• hyperbolic
• inflated
• magnified
• melodramatic
• overblown
• overwrought
• preposterous
• pretentious
• stylized
• unrealistic