figments

noun

plural of figment
1
as in illusions
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality 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

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2
as in fictions
something that is the product of the imagination thus far, the invisible human being has been nothing more than a figment of fantasy writers

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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 figments Pína and Hawk mysteriously slip out while Joe and Angela are in the kitchen, suggesting that the adventurous lovemakers may have just been figments of their imagination. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 July 2026 That description is essentially true; as a puppet designer and puppeteer, his job entails figuring out how to materialize figments of the imagination. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026 Boone is relentlessly hounded by figments of his guilty memory, by other ghosts, and by his daughter—all of whom emphasize his nefarious role in delaying action to combat climate change. — Julius Taranto, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026 On the live stream, Nacua questioned whether head injuries are real or just figments of the imagination. — Nate Atkins, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026 Are the protagonist’s past lives real, or just figments of his psychosis? — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for figments
  1. illusions
  2. fictions
  3. dreams
  4. fantasies
  5. visions
  6. tales
  7. daydreams
  8. fabrications
Noun
  • Neither of them, however, had any illusions about his prospects.
    — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Because only in intense, rarefied states will our illusions finally drop away, like redundant scaffolding, freeing us to perceive life on a more visceral level.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
Definition of illusions
Noun
  • Invasion fictions tended to spring up in response to each new form of invasion panic.
    — Ivan Kreilkamp, JSTOR Daily, 10 June 2026
  • The program also happens to be in line with one of the president’s convenient rhetorical fictions.
    — Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Definition of fictions
Noun
  • That’s what happens when a party and its voters stop seriously competing and instead indulge their passions and fever dreams.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
  • Its warble seemed the embodiment of dreams, that melted meeting point between memories and fantasy.
    — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026
Definition of dreams
Noun
  • As a young adult, Paul worked at a lumber yard and had fantasies of working a straight job as an accountant.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 20 July 2026
  • The President’s fantasies can, at times, take on a lurid tone.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 July 2026
Definition of fantasies
Noun
  • Jupiter in Leo will form an inspiring trine to Neptune retrograde in Aries while also opposing Pluto retrograde in Aquarius, creating a push-and-pull between our visions for the future and the inevitable transformation at play.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
  • America at 250 seems stuck in a miasma of rival populisms that offer irreconcilable visions for curing what ails our country.
    — Will Marshall, Washington Post, 18 July 2026
Definition of visions
Noun
  • Now 94, Cynthia still entertains with tales of bygone Barbados at the family's regular guest cocktail parties, whilst dinner is underscored by jazz singers and instrumentalists.
    — Jonnie Bayfield, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026
  • Among the most famous tales is that of Prince Ivan Kanitovski, who was reportedly murdered shortly after acquiring it.
    — Eliza Prosperini, Vanity Fair, 19 July 2026
Definition of tales
Noun
  • And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 June 2026
  • One-touch passing, feinting and ripping hard shots into a tattered net, each is super-charged by vivid daydreams of glory on the international stage.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2026
Definition of daydreams
Noun
  • There have been exceptions, and some of the good vibes are surely online fabrications, but for many, the geopolitical tensions have been temporarily set aside.
    — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
  • Consumers can expect new washes, cuffed hems, rich dark rinses, tonal stripe details, slub fabrications and additional silhouettes.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 6 July 2026
Definition of fabrications

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Cite this Entry

“Figments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/figments. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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