fabricate
Definitions
To make or manufacture something, especially by assembling parts.
制造，建造（尤指组装）。
To invent false information in order to deceive.
捏造，伪造（信息）。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedfabric (Latin fabrica, 'a workshop, a thing made by a craftsman' — itself from faber, a maker, in the fac family) + -ate (to make) = 'to make in a workshop, to construct.' From honest construction came the dark twist: to construct a lie, to build a false story out of nothing.
Root fac still carries 273 more wordsWhy It Means This
Fabricate is two-faced. In engineering it's neutral: fabricate steel beams (manufacture them). In everyday English it's almost always negative: fabricate evidence, fabricate an alibi — to 'manufacture' something that isn't true. The same verb that builds real things also builds fake ones.
Common Collocations
- 1.fabricate evidence伪造证据
- 2.fabricate a story编造故事
- 3.fabricate lies捏造谎言
- 4.fabricate data伪造数据
Example Sentences
- 1.
The factory can fabricate custom metal parts within a week.
- 2.
He was caught fabricating data in his research.
- 3.
The witness had fabricated the entire story.
Synonym Comparison
- fabricate — to manufacture, or to invent a lie out of nothing (negative in everyday use)
- manufacture — to make goods on an industrial scale; neutral
- forge — to make a fake copy of a document/signature/artwork
- invent — to create something genuinely new (neutral/positive)
- concoct — to cook up a story or excuse, often half-believable