figment of one's imagination

English

Noun

figment of one's imagination (plural figments of one's imagination)

1. (figurative) A product of the imagination.
   • 1821, Stephen Chapin, The Duty of Living for the Good of Posterity - A Sermon, Delivered at North-Yarmouth, December, 22, 1820, in Commemoration of the Close of the Second Century from the Landing of the Fore-fathers of New-England, page 9:

     How much would you expect, if commissioned to go into the heart of mahometan worship, and to say to them, your prophet was an impostor, your koran is a lie, and all your hopes of a sensual paradise a mere figment of your imagination?

   • 1997, Ed Solomon, Men in Black, spoken by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones):

     I am just a figment of your imagination.

     [puts on a pair of sunglasses]

   • 2023 September 22, HarryBlank, “Off Track”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 May 2024:

     Another pause, this one agonizing, and then: "You might as well come in. Because if you're telling the truth, that's the most fascinating thing I've ever heard, and if you're lying, you're a figment of my imagination, and I could still use the company."

Translations

product of the imagination

• Italian: parto della fantasia
• Polish: fantazja (pl) f, imaginacja (pl) f

Further reading

• “figment of one's imagination”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “figment of one's imagination”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “figment of your imagination”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “figment of sb's imagination”, in Collins English Dictionary.