figment
Americannoun
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a mere product of mental invention; a fantastic notion.
The noises in the attic were just a figment of his imagination.
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a feigned, invented, or imagined story, theory, etc..
biographical and historical figments.
noun
Related Words
See fiction.
Etymology
Origin of figment
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin figmentum “something made or feigned,” equivalent to fig- (base of fingere “to mold, feign”) + -mentum -ment; fiction ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The revs are but an airy figment in your febrile mind.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
As Kunimoto says, private-fund valuations are often “a figment of imagination.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
And if this ends up being nothing more than a figment of my imagination, where’s the harm in choosing not to question it, if it gives me something I’ve been so painfully missing.
From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025
Who knows, maybe the daughter is a figment of her imagination too, though I don’t think the movie supports such a reading.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
For though her gran insisted that the woman in the white cloak had only been a figment of Ivy’s imagination, Ivy knew what she had seen.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
