A recollection of an event that did not actually occur, or a significantly distorted recollection of an actual event, experienced as genuine.
From Old English 'fals' (wrong, fraudulent) + Latin 'memoria' (memory). Memories that feel real but aren't.
False memories feel 100% real — you'd swear it happened, but it didn't. Elizabeth Loftus showed that memories can be planted and grown like seeds in your mind.
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