Definition

1. Noun:
   • A contrived or fantastic idea; something invented or imagined: A "figment" is something that is not real but has been created or imagined in the mind. It is often used to describe an idea, story, or perception that is purely fictional or fabricated.

Usage

• The word "figment" is almost exclusively used in the phrase "a figment of [one's] imagination". This phrase emphasizes that something is not real and exists only in someone's mind. It is a fixed expression.
• It is a formal or literary term, often used to dismiss an idea as unreal or to describe a delusion.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• While "a figment of the imagination" is the standard phrase, you can creatively adapt the structure:
  • "a figment of his paranoia"
  • "a figment of political rhetoric"
• It can be used to describe something fabricated in a story or narrative:
  • The entire character was a figment created by the unreliable narrator.

Variants and Related Words

• Figmental (adjective, rare): Of the nature of a figment; imaginary.
  • His fears were figmental, with no connection to reality.

Synonyms

• Fabrication: Something invented or concocted, often to deceive.
• Fancy: A whimsical or capricious idea.
• Illusion: A false idea or belief; a deceptive appearance.
• Invention: Something, such as a story, that has been made up.
• Phantom: Something apparent to sense but with no substantial existence.

Antonyms

• Fact: A thing that is known or proved to be true.
• Reality: The state of things as they actually exist.

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• A figment of [one's/someone's] imagination: The only common idiom. It means something that seems real but is created by the mind.
  • The sound you heard wasn't real; it was a figment of your imagination.

Noun

1. a contrived or fantastic idea
   • a figment of the imagination