Synonyms of invention

invention

noun

in-ˈven(t)-shən 

1

as in innovation

something (as a device) created for the first time through the use of the imagination

his clever invention made people's lives easier

Synonyms & Similar Words

• innovation
• creation
• product
• device
• conception
• coinage
• contrivance
• work
• design
• concoction
• wrinkle
• novelty
• brainchild
• gadget
• contraption
• dream
• origination
• vision
• gizmo
• fantasy
• picture
• imagining

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reproduction
• imitation
• copy
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• replication
• clone
• replica
• carbon copy
• reduplication
• dupe

2

as in fiction

something that is the product of the imagination

unsurprisingly, the story about being kidnapped by aliens was pure invention

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fiction
• tale
• fabrication
• novel
• story
• fantasy
• fable
• narrative
• figment
• anecdote
• misrepresentation
• lie
• yarn
• fairy tale
• prevarication
• falsehood
• mendacity
• untruth
• falsity
• make-believe
• fib
• whopper

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• materiality
• actuality
• realness

3

as in imagination

the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others

a writer with great invention, she is able to create on the page worlds that don't exist but certainly seem like they could

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imagination
• creativity
• imaginativeness
• inventiveness
• fertility
• ideation
• contrivance
• originality
• fantasy
• ingenuity
• fancy
• resourcefulness
• inspiration
• versatility
• fecundity
• brainstorming
• dream
• brainstorm
• pipe dream
• illusion
• daydream
• visualization
• delusion
• chimera
• hallucination
• mirage
• figment
• phantasm
• mind's eye
• envisaging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• literalness
• literality

4

as in creativity

the skill and imagination to create new things

a person of seemingly endless invention, Thomas Edison held a world-record 1,093 patents

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imagination
• creativity
• creativeness
• ingenuity
• inventiveness
• innovativeness
• talent
• imaginativeness
• ingeniousness
• originality
• cleverness
• productivity
• productiveness
• resourcefulness
• fertility
• fruitfulness
• fecundity
• capableness
• genius
• prolificness
• prolificacy
• prolificity
• muse
• giftedness
• inspiration
• fire

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dryness
• dullness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of invention

On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness. — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Many companies try to encourage innovation by offering financial rewards for new inventions. — Harvard Business Review, 1 Sep. 2026

How Cedarstaff supposedly came to his invention is quite interesting. — Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 31 Aug. 2026

References On 20 March 1800, a year and three months after the death of Luigi Galvani, Alessandro Volta wrote a letter (in French) to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, describing his invention of an artificial electric organ. — IEEE Spectrum, 31 Aug. 2026