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as in mementos
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
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Recent Examples of artifacts
On March 31, the research initiative Open Restitution Africa (ORA) launched the ORA Open Data Platform, a database that provides information on the restitution of African artifacts and ancestral remains.
—
Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
The spacesuit and 12 other artifacts will find a new home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
—Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
The Autry Museum of the American West — after merging with the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in 2003 and since stewarding its collection of Indigenous art and artifacts — debuted a $32-million, 100,000-square-foot facility in Burbank in October 2022.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2026
After completing their survey, archaeologists declared the bracelets Danefæ, a designation given to significant artifacts that become the property of the Danish state.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 10 May 2026
Scientists long assumed Venus’s harsh environment would quickly destroy artifacts from probe missions.
—Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 10 May 2026
Thanks to the cold water temperature, lack of natural light, and the layers of silt covering many of the artifacts, the ship and its contents were in remarkably good condition.
—ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026
The Costume Institute Benefit, commonly known as the Met Gala, is a fundraiser for the museum's Costume Institute, which hosts a collection of over 33,000 fashion artifacts.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 5 May 2026
The Met Gala is a major fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, which houses numerous historic pieces of fashion and related artifacts.
—Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
The spacesuit and 12 other artifacts will find a new home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
—Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
The Autry Museum of the American West — after merging with the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in 2003 and since stewarding its collection of Indigenous art and artifacts — debuted a $32-million, 100,000-square-foot facility in Burbank in October 2022.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2026
After completing their survey, archaeologists declared the bracelets Danefæ, a designation given to significant artifacts that become the property of the Danish state.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 10 May 2026
Scientists long assumed Venus’s harsh environment would quickly destroy artifacts from probe missions.
—Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 10 May 2026
Thanks to the cold water temperature, lack of natural light, and the layers of silt covering many of the artifacts, the ship and its contents were in remarkably good condition.
—ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026
The Costume Institute Benefit, commonly known as the Met Gala, is a fundraiser for the museum's Costume Institute, which hosts a collection of over 33,000 fashion artifacts.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 5 May 2026
The Met Gala is a major fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, which houses numerous historic pieces of fashion and related artifacts.
—Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artifacts
Noun
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Mine For Gems Pan for minerals and fossils at Doc's Rocks Gem Mine, an old-timey outfit on the edge of town.—
Leigh Ann Henion,
Southern Living,
9 May 2026
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As a child, David loved collecting fossils and animals.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
8 May 2026
Noun
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From there, the last leg was an exercise in selfies and group photos in an attempt to capture what the trip had meant to us through visual mementos.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
11 May 2026
-
Pregnancy mementos take myriad forms.—
Elizabeth Kiefer,
Architectural Digest,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis are painful reminders that every boom eventually ends.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
7 May 2026
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The staircase to the second floor had a stair lift, and into my head drifted an image of an elderly widow, slowly ascending to her bedroom after eating alone, her kitchen overflowing with porcelain and crystal reminders of dinner parties long ago.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Legend has it that these relics are the remains of martyrs from the early days of Christianity in Rome that were discovered in the 16th century in unmarked graves in the city's catacombs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
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Channel Islands National Park, California A throwback to old California, the five-island park preserves paleolithic digs, frontier-era ranches and relics of Spanish exploration.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
Noun
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But does that have echoes in what’s going on outside our window?—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
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Drums and synthesizers are interspersed with delicately arranged strings, but there’s something transcendent about the contours and echoes of Raye’s voice.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Romvari does an effective job of highlighting the fragility of our remembrances and how the actions from the past affect us to this day.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
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Y’know, that certain vocal style or guitar tone or even decade-specific production tic that transports us like the meal at the end of Ratatouille to joyous remembrances of times past.—
Brendan Hay,
SPIN,
1 May 2026
Noun
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These are the remnants of clothes discarded in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and elsewhere that arrive in the northern Indian city of Panipat by the truckload, spilling over in loose, overflowing heaps.—
Ayushi Shah,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
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While there are traces of the home’s original state, including remnants of wallpaper under the basement stairs, much has been changed in the Prevost family’s absence.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The street in front of her building was littered with rubble and corpses.—
James Verini,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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They'd be heralded not by rippling explosions or flash frozen corpses floating against a tapestry of stars, but instead by oxygen, almost imperceptibly slipping away or radiation slowly accumulating in our cells over years.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Artifacts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artifacts. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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