confabulate

The useful part

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 26, 2026 is: confabulate В• \kun-FAB-yuh-layt\В В• verb Confabulate has two very different meanings. Most of the time, to confabulate is to generate a false memory by filling in memory gaps with fabrications. See the entry > Examples: "My dearly-loved sister, Marj, died suddenly one month ago at 93.

How it works

• Today, however, the word is usually used with the meaning it took on in the early 1900s, and especially in contexts relating to psychology: confabulating in this way means fabricating memories especially to...
• No one else will remember the glint that lit Dad's eyes when Mom announced, 'I'm baking a batch of Mrs.
• I miss her, and especially dread the loss of her as a companion in our treasure-trove of joint memories.
• Who else can set the record straight when I confabulate?" вЂ" Larry Beahan, The Buffalo News, 17 Aug.
• If you want to do it the original way, you’ll simply have a chat with someone.

What to take from it

Artificial intelligence that produces false output is also now sometimes said to be confabulating, i.e. People have been confabulating with one another thusly since the early 1600s. The ultimate source of this versatile word is the Latin noun fДЃbula, which refers to a conversation or a story, and is also the root of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/...

Details worth keeping

Mahoney's cookies.' I can smell that molasses now. In the 2000s, confabulate is taking on a new use.