Figment

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈfɪɡ.mÉ™nt/

Origin

From Late Latin figmentum ("anything made, a fiction"), from fingō ("make, form, feign"); see fiction, feign.

Full definition of figment

Noun

1. A fabrication, fantasy, invention; something fictitious.
• 1989 (Sep 30), R. McNeill Alexander, "Biomechanics in the days before Newton", New Scientist volume 123, No. 1684, page 59He had not seen sarcomeres: these segments were a figment of his imagination.
• 1999, Martin Gardner, The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener, page 12Perhaps, dear reader, you are only a figment in the dream of some god, as Sherlock Holmes was a figment in the mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• 2004, Daniel C. Noel, In a Wayward Mood: Selected Writings 1969-2002, page 256Jung's implication here is clearly that one should try to forget that this is only a figment or fantasy, merely make-believe—or perhaps that one should forget the “only,” the “merely”—and indeed take the fantasy seriously as a reality.

Usage notes

Often used in the form "a figment of someone's imagination".

Related terms

• feign
• fiction
• fictional
• fictitious