fabricate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make by art or skill and labor; construct.
The finest craftspeople fabricated this clock.
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to make by assembling parts or sections.
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to devise or invent (a legend, lie, etc.).
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to fake; forge (a document, signature, etc.).
verb
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to make, build, or construct
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to devise, invent, or concoct (a story, lie, etc)
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to fake or forge
Synonym Usage
See manufacture.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fabricatesimple
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fabricatessimple
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have fabricatedperfect
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has fabricatedperfect
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am fabricatingprogressive
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are fabricatingprogressive
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is fabricatingprogressive
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have been fabricatingperfect progressive
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has been fabricatingperfect progressive
Past
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fabricatedsimple
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had fabricatedperfect
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was fabricatingprogressive
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were fabricatingprogressive
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had been fabricatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fabricate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin fabricātus “made,” past participle of fabricāre; see fabric, -ate 1
Explanation
Do you like to construct mini airplanes from kits? Work on an assembly line? Piece together Ikea furniture? Then you certainly know how to fabricate, or to put together, things. While fabricate might mean the physical act of construction, it can also mean constructing a falsehood. Watch out — those well versed in the art of fabrication might have an ulterior motive. In the movies, the bad cops sometimes fabricate evidence to make the good guy look guilty. When you tell the teacher the dog ate your homework, you’ve fabricated a pretty silly excuse. So if you’re going to fabricate the truth, get some better material!
Vocabulary lists containing fabricate
Advanced English Words
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Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
See Examples For:
AI models “hallucinate,” meaning they routinely fabricate information, without any sign that the answers could be made up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
This also helps explain the rise of a new class of influencers, who reach audiences with direct-address, short-form video, which is much harder to fabricate with AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Andrew Glazer, director of the documentary on the 2018 disappearances, told AFP that Ramos is accused of paying actors to fabricate allegations against the military.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
Company-1 and the trio would then allegedly fabricate records to make it appear as though Company-1 was the intended user.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
Much more difficulty came from the necessity to fabricate representations of the inorganic ions.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, fabricates roughly 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Exiled by Astoria to the garage, Hampton fabricates his special drill as the family watches from afar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Now his custom-made creations, which he designs and fabricates after work in his garage in Port Chester, N.Y., are featured in those same lowrider magazines.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2024
To print a new material from scratch, one must typically set up to 100 parameters in software that controls how the printer will extrude the material as it fabricates an object.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2024
The “social grosbeak” fabricates a republic of nests in one clump, and all under one roof.
From Popular Adventure Tales by Reid, Mayne
They fabricated chips with synthesis sites placed closer together, hoping to increase the number of DNA sequences produced simultaneously.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
A Bramshill representative said Nieporte’s claims were built on fabricated accusations and that it expects the legal process to affirm that neither it nor the co-owners engaged in wrongful conduct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
She posted a video, delivered in Italian, calling Trump's account "completely fabricated."
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
According to Griffin’s dueling lawsuit, every element of her former classmate’s account is false, and the accusation that Griffin “stole the rape of another woman and built a bestseller on it” is fabricated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Then, since our lab was ruined, he fabricated data that ended up being more accurate than anyone else’s.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
Examples include fabricating legal cases or producing images with unrealistic details such as extra fingers.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2026
Neither the defence's witnesses nor the prison's doctors believed Jeffries was "malingering" - or intentionally fabricating or exaggerating his symptoms.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
By fabricating a Russian advance, according to the report, the staffer triggered payouts as high as 33,000% on bets that Russia would take the town by Nov. 15.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
The company has faced allegations of fraud from short sellers who accuse it of misrepresenting its products and fabricating revenue, claims the company hasn’t addressed publicly to date.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
We sent photographs of humans from all over the world caring for one another, learning, fabricating tools and art and responding to challenges.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
