figment of (one's)/the imagination

(redirected from a figment of her imagination)
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figment of (one's)/the imagination

An experience that initially is thought to be real but is actually imagined. I thought I heard the sound of my front door opening last night but it turned out to be a figment of my imagination.
See also: figment, imagination, of

figment of one's imagination

Something made up, invented, or fabricated, as in "The long dishevelled hair, the swelled black face, the exaggerated stature were figments of imagination" (Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847). This term is redundant, since figment means "product of the imagination." [Early 1800s]
See also: figment, imagination, of

a figment of somebody’s imagiˈnation

something which somebody only imagines: Doctor, are you suggesting the pain is a figment of my imagination?
See also: figment, imagination, of
References in periodicals archive ?
A stranger who also seems to be stuck in 1982 is making Alex doubt that her current world is merely a figment of her imagination.
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A mysterious stranger who also seems to be stuck in 1982 is making Alex doubt that the world of DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is merely a figment of her imagination.
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James Patterson's new book follows Jane, a seven-year-old loner whose only solace is in the form of an ideal male companion, a 30-something named Michael who is a figment of her imagination. Over two decades later, no win her 30s, Jane remains alone.
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Jane's only solace is in the form of an ideal male companion, a 30-something named Michael who is a figment of her imagination. Now in her 30s, Jane remains alone - but Michael is back and this time he's real.
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All just a figment of her imagination, according to the police.
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Roberts said the allegations by the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were "a figment of her imagination".
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But even if the toy boy is more than a figment of her imagination, there is no real excuse for her to be carrying on like this.
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"This is all a figment of her imagination," he said.
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