confabulate
verb
intransitive verb
Peter R. Breggin 
Did you know?
Confabulate is a fabulous word for making fantastic fabrications. Given the similarities in spelling and sound, you might guess that confabulate and fabulous come from the same root, and they do—the Latin fābula, which refers to a conversation or a story. Another fābula descendant that continues to tell tales in English is fable. All three words have long histories in English: fable first appears in writing in the 14th century, and fabulous follows in the 15th. Confabulate is a relative newcomer, appearing at the beginning of the 1600s.
Synonyms
- advise
- confab
- confer
- consult
- counsel
- parley
- treat
Example Sentences
Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2019 Then Michael confabulated much longer and more fruitfully. Josh Rottenberg, latimes.com, 9 Oct. 2017 Word History
Latin confabulatus, past participle of confabulari, from com- + fabulari to talk, from fabula story — more at fable
circa 1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1
confabulating
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- consulting
- discussing
- conferring
- talking
- parleying
- confabbing
- treating
- arguing
- advising
- counseling
- palavering
- debating
- bandying
- counselling
- rehashing
- deliberating
- ventilating
- disputing
- suggesting
- talking over
- coaching
- chewing over
- tutoring
- guiding
- mooting
- recommending
- kicking around
- batting (around)
- hashing (over)
- directing
- referring (to)