figment
be a figment of (one's/the) imagination
To be an imagined experience (especially after one has initially thought it to be real). 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)/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
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
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
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
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
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
figment of the imagination, a
An imaginary occurrence; a pipe dream. This expression is tautological, since figment means a product of fictitious invention. Nevertheless, it has been used since the mid-nineteenth century. It appeared in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847): “The long dishevelled hair, the swelled black face, the exaggerated stature, were figments of imagination.”
See also: figment, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be a figment of (one's/the) imagination
- imagination
- figment of (one's)/the imagination
- figment of one's imagination
- a figment of somebody's imagination
- there is no spoon
- the mind's ear
- by no stretch
- be on the door
- answer the door