artifact

noun

Definition of artifactnext
1
as in fossil
an object made by humans and surviving from an earlier time period The site was full of Stone Age artifacts such as flint tools.

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2
as in memento
a lingering indication of something from the past The spelling of "trough" is an artifact of the way it was originally pronounced.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of artifact Visitors will use smartphones to scan codes inside the Icon Park attraction for clues that will help track down five missing artifacts and the story behind the techniques used by Tussaud. — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026 Interactive exhibits and some artifacts dating back more than 100 years help detail the conception and transformation of the oldest Black congregation in Delaware. — Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Yet these subjects are often united by a kind of nostalgia—or more precisely, the kind of nostalgia induced by pop culture artifacts. — Geoffrey O’Brien, The New York Review of Books, 22 Aug. 2026 There’s a plucky little Qing Dynasty artifact that at first glance looks out of place among China’s many Forbidden City treasures. — Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for artifact
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artifact
  1. fossil
  2. memento
  3. relic
  4. reminder
  5. echo
  6. afterimage
  7. remembrance
  8. remnant
Noun
  • For a long time, this fossil sat in museum archives under a quiet case of mistaken identity.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The team notes that since the fossil was located in an area that would have once been where water and land met, the insect's transitional habitat played a key role in its evolution.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of fossil
Noun
  • The bespoke bottle is carved out in front of guests, who can then take it home as a memento.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The Premier League trophy was kept out of the way, not shown off, apart from the blazing cover picture in the souvenir programme which ensured queues snaking through the crowd to purchase this special memento.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of memento
Noun
  • In Freeport, Allen has built the Bahamas Maritime Museum, where relics are cataloged, conserved, and displayed, creating local jobs and drawing tourists.
    — Brett Berk, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Those old Albanian passports were relics of Communism, built to last.
    — Ledio Cakaj, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of relic
Noun
  • These separate developments serve as yet another reminder of, with a few notable exceptions, how ubiquitous Turkey’s homegrown drones have become in the Middle East and North Africa region in a relatively short period of time.
    — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Your stories are a great reminder of what sports teaches high school students about life.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of reminder
Noun
  • After Davis’ single appearance, Anne Baxter would step in as the matriarch of the series (as a new character), an ironic echo of Baxter’s Eve ambitiously attempting to usurp Davis’ Margo in the classic All About Eve.
    — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The echoes of his shot died away and the jungle was as still as a grave.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of echo
Noun
  • Those truths come together in a series of ands and buts, which layer upon and contradict each other, like the afterimages of Tullock in Stefania Bulbarella’s video design.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
  • That trailing effect isn’t a smear on its own, but their blades also leave afterimages, duplicate smears, along their path through space.
    — Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2025
Definition of afterimage
Noun
  • In 2027, that Monday is Yom HaShoah, the day of international Holocaust remembrance.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The ceremony was confirmed by her great-niece, Lainey Parton, who posted a remembrance on social media.
    — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of remembrance
Noun
  • Dolly's remnants also bringing rain Elsewhere, the hurricane center is keeping an eye on whether the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly could develop again.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Dolly’s remnants are now just a surface trough of low pressure producing a disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms stretching from over portions of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of remnant

Browse Nearby Words

articulations
artifact
artifacts
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Cite this Entry

“Artifact.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artifact. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on artifact

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about artifact

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