figment

noun

fig·​ment ˈfig-mənt 

: something made up or contrived

Did you know?

A figment is something formed from imaginary elements. Daydreams are figments; nightmares are figments that can seem very real. Most figments are everyday fears and hopes about small things that turn out to be imaginary. But when the radio play "The War of the Worlds" aired in 1938, it caused a panic among thousands of people who didn't realize the Martian invasion was just a figment of the author's imagination.

Synonyms

• chimera
• conceit
• daydream
• delusion
• dream
• fancy
• fantasy
• phantasy
• hallucination
• illusion
• nonentity
• phantasm
• fantasm
• pipe dream
• unreality
• vision

Examples of figment in a Sentence

unable to find any tracks in the snow the next morning, I was forced to conclude that the shadowy figure had been a figment of my imagination

thus far, the invisible human being has been nothing more than a figment of fantasy writers

Recent Examples on the Web

And, specifically, a figment of Neko Case’s imagination. —Emma Alpern, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2025

Williams will play Earl, a cigar-chomping, human-size anthropomorphic toad who may or may not be a figment of the boys’ imaginations. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 17 Jan. 2025

Fun fact: Snuffleupagus was a figment of Big Bird's imagination until 1985.1 Cookie Monster Cookie Monster, the bright blue, furry monster, is the ultimate cookie lover. —Casey Clark, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025

What Mishima set out to do in his final decade was to devise a cause to die for, a cause that had historical precedents but was still a figment of his richly morbid imagination. —Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "fable, deceitful practice," borrowed from Latin figmentum "thing formed, image, invention," from fig-, variant stem of fingere "to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, pretend to be" + -mentum -ment — more at feign

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing figment

• a figment of one's imagination

Rhymes for figment

• pigment

Kids Definition

figment

noun

fig·​ment ˈfig-mənt 

: something imagined or made up