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

• illusion
• dream
• fantasy
• daydream
• vision
• delusion
• phantasy

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

The show more or less depicts this as a figment of Gein's imagination, which is good, since there's no evidence that Gein ever worked with the FBI. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025

So this character is a figment of some cis man's imagination. —Marley Gotterer, Them., 18 Sep. 2025

Are the protagonist’s past lives real, or just figments of his psychosis? —Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025

But the hunger crisis isn’t a figment of some propagandist’s imagination. —Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 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