Figment of one’s imagination 意為「臆想的事物；虛構的事物；憑空想像的事物」。有趣的是，figment 本身的意思跟這個片語完全一樣，使得 figment of one’s imagination 成為贅述 (tautology)。已知第一個使用這片語的人是英國女作家夏綠蒂‧勃朗特 (Charlotte Brontë)，她在她 1847 年出版的世界文學名著《簡愛》(Jane Eyre) 中寫到：”The long dishevelled hair, the swelled black face, the exaggerated stature were figments of imagination.” (凌亂的長髮、腫脹的黑臉、誇張的身材，全都是虛構的)。除了用在這個片語外，figment 本身鮮少單獨使用。Figment of one’s imagination 為可數名詞，複數為 figments of one’s imagination。
例句：
- I seemed to hear the sound of my front door opening last night but it turned out to be a figment of my imagination. (我昨晚好像聽到前門打開的聲音，但結果是我想太多了)
- John: A little bird told me that we’ll get large pay rises/raises next year. (約翰：有人告訴我，我們明年將獲得大幅加薪)
Mary: But many employees believe it’s a figment of the imagination. (瑪麗：但許多員工認為，這純屬虛構)