figment

UK: /ˈfɪgmənt/ US: /ˈfɪgmənt/ ,(fig′mənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fig•ment /ˈfɪgmənt/   n. 

[countable]
1. a mere product of mental invention;
   a fantastic notion:
   The noises in the attic were just a figment of his imagination.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fig•ment  (fig′mənt), n. 

1. a mere product of mental invention;
   a fantastic notion:
   The noises in the attic were just a figment of his imagination.
2. a feigned, invented, or imagined story, theory, etc.:
   biographical and historical figments.

• Latin figmentum something made or feigned, equivalent. to fig- (base of fingere to mold, feign) + -mentum -ment
• late Middle English 1400–50

Synonyms

• 2. See fiction. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

figment / ˈfɪɡmənt/ noun

1. a fantastic notion, invention, or fabrication: a figment of the imagination

Etymology: 15th Century: from Late Latin figmentum a fiction, from Latin fingere to shape