Confabulate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈfæbjʊleɪt/

Definitions

1. To participate in casual or informal conversation ; to mistakenly create false memories or fill gaps in memory with fabricated details
2. To engage in relaxed discussion or chat ; to inaccurately combine or invent memories in place of real ones
3. To hold informal talks or friendly conversations ; to unintentionally produce false recollections or confabulated experiences

Etymology: The sense most people now know, inventing memories without meaning to lie, is a much later development than the word itself. "Confabulate" first appeared in English in 1623, borrowed from the Latin "confabulari," meaning to talk together or chat informally. The Latin root is "fabulari," to talk or tell stories, from "fabula," a story or tale, which is also the source of English "fable." The prefix "con-" adds the sense of "together," so the original idea was simply two or more people sharing talk. For centuries the English verb kept that sociable meaning. The darker sense, filling gaps in memory with invented details, came from psychology and neurology, where it was adopted to describe patients who confidently recount events that never happened. Writers in those fields borrowed the old verb because it already carried the idea of making up talk, and the shift from friendly conversation to unreliable recollection grew out of that narrow, specialized use.

Synonyms: converse, discuss, chat, talk, gossip