figment en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Late Latin figmentum (“anything made, a fiction”), from fingō (“make, form, feign”); see fiction, feign, feint.
Meanings
-
A fabrication, fantasy, invention; something fictitious.
Perhaps, 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
1999, Martin Gardner, The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener, page 12:He had not seen sarcomeres: these segments were a figment of his imagination.
1989 (Sep 30), R. McNeill Alexander, "Biomechanics in the days before Newton", New Scientist volume 123, No. 1684, page 59Jung'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.
2004, Daniel C. Noel, In a Wayward Mood: Selected Writings 1969-2002, page 256:a figment of one's imagination
- (obsolete) An item which has been crafted.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| figments | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
fiction · fictitious · feign · fictional
Translations (48)
hy ֆիկցիա (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr chimère (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ca quimera (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es ensueño (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · hu szülött (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es hircocervo (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru ложь (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es ficción (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr fantasmagorie (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es invento (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr divagation (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · hu koholmány (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru вы́думка (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · mk измислица (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr vaticination (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es quimera (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es ilusión (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · grc πλάσμα (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru вы́мысел (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru плод фантазии (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es abulencia (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · de Hirngespinst (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es superchería (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr illusion (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es producto (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · bg измислица (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · sv påhitt (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr déconnage (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · de Erfindung (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr roman (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · es espejismo (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru до́мысел (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr fiction (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · sv påfund (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · nl bedenksel (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ru фи́кция (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr vue de l'esprit (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ca fantasia (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr rêvasserie (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr rêve (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · nl droom (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · hu kitaláció (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · de Fantasieprodukt (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fr utopie (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · fi kuvitelma (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · el αποκύημα (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · ca invent (fabrication, fantasy, invention) · nl verzinsel (fabrication, fantasy, invention)