figment

[ fig-muhnt ]

See synonyms for figment on Thesaurus.com

noun

a mere product of mental invention; a fantastic notion: The noises in the attic were just a figment of his imagination.
a feigned, invented, or imagined story, theory, etc.: biographical and historical figments.

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;see fiction

synonym study For figment

2. See fiction.

Words Nearby figment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use figment in a sentence

Other classic Halloween characters, like ghosts, are just figments of our imagination.
Let’s learn about the creatures of Halloween | Maria Temming | October 26, 2021 | Science News For Students
That’s a figment of his imagination and obviously being used for political advancement.
“We never created a supervirus.” Ralph Baric explains gain-of-function research. | Rowan Jacobsen | July 26, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Instead, it sets up an end-of-first-act plot twist where we find out that Joe has been talking to a figment of his imagination all along.
Wahlberg walks for redemption in disappointing ‘Joe Bell’ | John Paul King | July 22, 2021 | Washington Blade
This is Sam’s “double,” a figment of his imagination that offers advice that often contradicts what Sam wants to do.
‘Twin Mirror’ is a pale reflection of Dontnod’s previous, story-rich games | Elise Favis | December 2, 2020 | Washington Post
The “discourse” online is between figments of ourselves, ghosts in dialogue.
Better conversations: The 7 essential elements of meaningful communication | matthewheimer | November 24, 2020 | Fortune

But it turns out The Furies of Maidan is not a figment of his imagination.
Want a Good Look at Putin’s Pervy Propaganda? See ‘The Furies of Maidan’ | Cathy Young | April 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Equally divided consensus says: a figment of her imagination, or Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr.
Feminist Flagellant: Liz Jones’s Surprising Brand of Tell-All | Emma Garman | July 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Despite aural evidence to the contrary, Mr. Bhatt, however, insisted the noise was a figment of my imagination.
My Own Private Bollywood | Katherine Russell Rich | July 7, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
We gave America its gangster legends—but our guy, Al Capone, was real, not a fictional figment like Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano.
Obamaville | Don Rose | November 6, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
That this whole thing was a figment of Mr. Hamblen's imagination.
Warren Commission (10 of 26): Hearings Vol. X (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
This indeed was his spiritual and mental reality for her; the rest of him was a figment, a dream that might pass suddenly away.
Plashers Mead | Compton Mackenzie
And yet it is not true that matter is a pure figment of the imagination; it has an existence of its own, a potential existence.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac Husik
The forms of government are abstractions, not names of realities, and their 'mixture' is a pure figment.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I. | Leslie Stephen
It was not that to my feelings the obligations were really a mere figment of pretence.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols) | Thomas De Quincey

British Dictionary definitions for figment

figment

/ (ˈfɪɡmənt) /

noun

a fantastic notion, invention, or fabrication: a figment of the imagination

Origin of figment

C15: from Late Latin figmentum a fiction, from Latin fingere to shape

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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