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 The venue functions as both a nightclub and a living exhibit, continuing the performance tradition while surrounded by artifacts documenting the city’s musical legacy. — J.m. Banks june 29, Kansas City Star, 29 June 2026 The museum, where materials recovered from the site are stored, created a small but compelling exhibit in its downtown Miami galleries that includes a variety of artifacts from the circle site. — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026 Nearby is the Lincoln Museum, filled with period artifacts and wax-figure dioramas that span the breadth of his life, from his early cabin years to the finality of Ford's Theatre. — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026 There will be artifacts from the 1976 bicentennial year, local connections to the Anza expedition, winning entries from the student poster contest and opportunities for visitors to share their hopes for America’s 300th anniversary. — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 29 June 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
  • From otherworldly red rocks to fossil beds and alpine lakes, Nevada’s state parks offer adventures far beyond the Las Vegas Strip.
    — Eve Chen, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • What made the claim misleading was the gap between a transition image and continued fossil expansion.
    — Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of fossil
Noun
  • The makeup artist recently shared some mementos from working with the actress, 51.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
  • The T-shirts are coveted mementos of the big day, and longtime participants often have collections of T-shirts from races past.
    — AJC.com, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of memento
Noun
  • There are also permanent upgrades to health and attack power, as well as rare relics that enable unique skills, like multiple jumps.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • Museum of Miami The Museum of Miami, formerly HistoryMiami, holds the relics and artifacts that were excavated at the Miami Circle.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
Definition of relic
Noun
  • Like many public events in wartime Ukraine, the festival blended ordinary leisure with reminders that the war is never far away.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 July 2026
  • The most potent reminder of the bloodshed lies in the thousands of people buried under debris.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of reminder
Noun
  • The rural storytelling and fiddle music on the frontier inspired the emergence and growth of commercial country music and bluegrass music, while echoes of acoustic blues and protest songs can be heard in modern R&B and hip-hop.
    — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
  • These trades also feel like a bizarro echo of a deal by previous Canucks management almost exactly one year ago.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of echo
Noun
  • 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
  • But her teachers at the school left important afterimages.
    — Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Definition of afterimage
Noun
  • The following day, Black New Yorkers continued the celebration with public processions and gatherings, part of a tradition that became known as the Fifth of July — a recognition that emancipation deserved remembrance alongside Independence Day.
    — Tunisia Morrison, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026
  • As the parade stopped to lay a wreath at the Granary Burying Ground where founding fathers John Hancock and Samuel Adams are buried, a man placed a small stone on the memorial, a Jewish tradition of remembrance.
    — Catherine Simpson Bueker, The Conversation, 1 July 2026
Definition of remembrance
Noun
  • Although astronomers are pretty sure there is a neutron star in the heart of the remnant based on indirect evidence, no pulsar radio emissions have yet been detected.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 July 2026
  • But beyond these genetic remnants, the exact nature of any interactions between our species and Neanderthals is much more of a mystery.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 6 July 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 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on artifact

Nglish: Translation of artifact for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about artifact

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