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; see fiction ( def. )
Explanation
When something is a figment of your imagination, it means that you made it up. It's something that might seem real, but is really not. What does a fig- (not the fruit fig) have to do with something made up inside your head? It has to do with Latin, as usual — both figment and fiction derive from the same Latin word. But it might help to think of figment as a fig leaf — a figment is something flimsy and easily blown away.
Vocabulary lists containing figment
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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Our Favorite Lily Tomlin Quotes
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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.
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
Pat died in 2012, but was later seen on-screen again with Dame Barbara Windsor, when she returned as a figment of the dying Peggy's imagination in 2016.
From BBC • Nov. 13, 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
The whole thing was a figment of his imagination.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
