confabulate

/kənˌfæbjəˈleɪt/

Other forms: confabulating; confabulated

Confabulate is a fancy way of saying “talk.” If you’re feeling formal, you don’t chat with your best friend on the phone, you confabulate. Regular people talk, people wearing tuxedos and beaded evening gowns confabulate.

Confabulate means to talk, but it also refers to creating a memory that’s unreal, like a fable, without being aware of it. If you suffer from memory loss, you might confabulate to fill in the blanks. The word comes from the Latin com- for "together" and fabulari for "to talk," which comes from fabula for "a tale." Whew. For a long time, confabulate just meant “to talk,” but the psychiatric sense came later.

Definitions of confabulate

1. verb

   talk socially without exchanging too much information
   synonyms: chaffer, chat, chatter, chew the fat, chit-chat, chitchat, claver, confab, gossip, jaw, natter, shoot the breeze, visit

   types:

   jawbone, schmoose, schmooze, shmoose, shmooze

   talk idly or casually and in a friendly way

   type of:

   converse, discourse

   carry on a conversation
2. verb

   have a conference in order to talk something over
   synonyms: confab, confer, consult

   types:

   collogue

   confer secretly

   type of:

   discuss, hash out, talk over

   speak with others about (something); talk (something) over in detail; have a discussion
3. verb

   unconsciously replace fact with fantasy in one's memory
   type of:

   cook up, fabricate, fabulate, invent, make up, manufacture

   make up something artificial or untrue