confabulate

[ kuhn-fab-yuh-leyt ]

verb (used without object)

, con·fab·u·lat·ed, con·fab·u·lat·ing.

1. to converse informally; chat.
2. Psychiatry. to replace a gap in one's memory by a falsification that one believes to be true; engage in confabulation.

confabulate

/ kənˈfæbjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. to talk together; converse; chat
2. psychiatry to replace the gaps left by a disorder of the memory with imaginary remembered experiences consistently believed to be true See also paramnesia

Derived Forms

• conˈfabulatory, adjective
• conˌfabuˈlation, noun
• conˈfabuˌlator, noun

Other Words From

• con·fabu·lator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of confabulate¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin confābulātus (past participle of confābulārī “to talk together, discuss”); con- ( def ), fable ( def ), -ate ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of confabulate¹

C17: from Latin confābulārī, from fābulārī to talk, from fābula a story; see fable

Example Sentences

“If he is confabulating, he is wholly confident in his recollection and will stick to his guns. You can’t present anyone confabulating with evidence to the contrary because they believe their own reality.”

From Washington Times

“We know people confabulate details in many situations, but it was neat to see this play out in the context of imagination,” McCoy says.

From Scientific American

Shawn Oakley has shown that it is easy to induce ChatGPT to create misinformation and even report confabulated studies on a wide range of topics, from medicine to politics to religion.

From Scientific American

I’m a confabulating somnambulist, a bundle of reflexes, twitches and compulsions with no self-knowledge, let alone self-control.

From Scientific American

The personnel dressed in white jackets the next morning were busy confabulating and joking with one another while cheesy loud music was playing in the background.

From The New Yorker