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

At the end of a closed-door trial, an Iranian court in October sentenced them to jail on espionage charges their families say were fabricated.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Torres Campos’ lawyer, in a reply brief and a subsequent proposed court order, didn’t mention that Twigg and Teegarden were fabricated cases, perhaps because the lawyer hadn’t checked the references personally.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Now the DOJ admitted that this policy “does not and has never applied” to immigration courts—meaning that its core defense of the agents’ conduct had been fabricated all along.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

The company plans to ship its first orders of the chips—which are fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.—in the months ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 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

Related Words

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