artifact

noun

Definition of artifactnext
1
as in fossil
an object made by humans and surviving from an earlier time period The site was full of Stone Age artifacts such as flint tools.

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2
as in memento
a lingering indication of something from the past The spelling of "trough" is an artifact of the way it was originally pronounced.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of artifact Since February, researchers have uncovered eight human skeletons along with bronze and gold jewelry, pottery and other artifacts. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 July 2026 While researchers are still analyzing the artifacts, Alamo Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham believes the two cannonballs may have come from opposing sides of the conflict. — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026 The British Museum’s collection of South Arabian artifacts indeed includes incense burners, tablets, altars and other ancient items that could be the ones referred to by the Yemen Authority. — News Desk, Artforum, 7 July 2026 The prevailing motifs include Anglo-American boarding schools and college campuses, accoutrements with a romantic aura (billowing sleeves, melting candles), and analog artifacts (old compasses, monocles). — Sophia Zhang, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for artifact
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artifact
  1. fossil
  2. memento
  3. relic
  4. reminder
  5. echo
  6. afterimage
  7. remembrance
  8. remnant
Noun
  • From otherworldly red rocks to fossil beds and alpine lakes, Nevada’s state parks offer adventures far beyond the Las Vegas Strip.
    — Eve Chen, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • What made the claim misleading was the gap between a transition image and continued fossil expansion.
    — Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of fossil
Noun
  • The makeup artist recently shared some mementos from working with the actress, 51.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
  • The T-shirts are coveted mementos of the big day, and longtime participants often have collections of T-shirts from races past.
    — AJC.com, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of memento
Noun
  • Their images helped recast the factory not as a relic, but as a monumental work of beauty.
    — Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2026
  • Peter once ruled the small principality, and the saints’ relics rest there.
    — Diana Dukhanova, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
Definition of relic
Noun
  • Fan Fest officials were warning about overheating earlier in the day and issuing reminders about hydrating, which will continue to be important as fans move to Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium.
    — The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026
  • But the lawsuit is also a gigantic reminder that Apple is under major pressure from AI in general.
    — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of reminder
Noun
  • The rural storytelling and fiddle music on the frontier inspired the emergence and growth of commercial country music and bluegrass music, while echoes of acoustic blues and protest songs can be heard in modern R&B and hip-hop.
    — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
  • These trades also feel like a bizarro echo of a deal by previous Canucks management almost exactly one year ago.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of echo
Noun
  • That trailing effect isn’t a smear on its own, but their blades also leave afterimages, duplicate smears, along their path through space.
    — Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2025
  • But her teachers at the school left important afterimages.
    — Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Definition of afterimage
Noun
  • The following day, Black New Yorkers continued the celebration with public processions and gatherings, part of a tradition that became known as the Fifth of July — a recognition that emancipation deserved remembrance alongside Independence Day.
    — Tunisia Morrison, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026
  • As the parade stopped to lay a wreath at the Granary Burying Ground where founding fathers John Hancock and Samuel Adams are buried, a man placed a small stone on the memorial, a Jewish tradition of remembrance.
    — Catherine Simpson Bueker, The Conversation, 1 July 2026
Definition of remembrance
Noun
  • Although astronomers are pretty sure there is a neutron star in the heart of the remnant based on indirect evidence, no pulsar radio emissions have yet been detected.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 July 2026
  • But beyond these genetic remnants, the exact nature of any interactions between our species and Neanderthals is much more of a mystery.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 6 July 2026
Definition of remnant

Browse Nearby Words

articulations
artifact
artifacts
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Cite this Entry

“Artifact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artifact. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on artifact

Nglish: Translation of artifact for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about artifact

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