allusion

noun

al·​lu·​sion ə-ˈlü-zhən 

1

: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature

a poem that makes allusions to classical literature

also : the use of such references

2

: the act of making an indirect reference to something : the act of alluding to something

Did you know?

What is the word origin of allusion?

An allusion is not a play on words—that would be a pun—but allusion does come from the Latin verb allūdere, which in turn combines the verb lūdere, meaning “play,” with the prefix ad-, which can mean “to,” “toward,” or “near.” One way of thinking about an allusion—an indirect reference, especially (though not exclusively) as used in literature—is that it “plays toward or around” something rather than naming it directly. For example, Picnic, Lightning, the title of a book by poet Billy Collins, is an allusion to a line from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita. This allusion—like most—works on the assumption that there is a body of knowledge shared by the author and reader and that therefore the reader will understand the reference. Don’t be misled by the similar pronunciation and spelling of allusion and illusion, however. You wouldn’t be the first, but the latter—which also comes from lūdere—refers to something that is visually or otherwise misleading.

Did you know?

Allusion and Illusion

Allusion and illusion may share some portion of their ancestry (both words come in part from the Latin word ludere, meaning “to play”), and sound quite similar, but they are distinct words with very different meanings. An allusion is an indirect reference, whereas an illusion is something that is unreal or incorrect. Each of the nouns has a related verb form: allude “to refer indirectly to,” and illude (not a very common word), which may mean “to delude or deceive” or “to subject to an illusion.”

Examples of allusion in a Sentence

There are lots of literary echoes and allusions in the novel, but they don't do anything for the tired texture of the prose. —Tony Tanner, New York Times Book Review, 6 Apr. 1997

So while the former engineering professor with an IQ reportedly tipping 180 enjoys bombarding his staff with math wizardry, scientific jargon and computerese, he also drops frequent allusions to his baseball card and stamp collections … —Maureen Dowd, New York Times Magazine, 16 Sept. 1990

To my ear this is a beautiful reenactment of the prose of the antebellum South, with its careful grammar, its stately cadences, and its classical allusions and quotations. —Cleanth Brooks, The Language of the American South, 1985

The lyrics contain biblical allusions.

She made allusion to her first marriage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some took that remark as an innocent allusion to her job promoting fresh produce; others saw it as a pointed comment on a longtime epithet for gay men. —Anita Gates, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Some took that remark as an innocent allusion to her job promoting fresh produce; others saw it as a longtime epithet for gay men. —Anita Gates, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2025

Forrester’s allusion to the uniform by way of its color is telling, because in most of the paintings in the show, his palette is dominated by hues in the blue-violet range of the spectrum. —Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025

Grace Fell, a 25-year-old Chicago native, recalls seeing trailers for Wicked's national tour on TV for years but said the racial and political allusions in the plot never came across. —Tamia Fowlkes, USA TODAY, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin allūsiōn-, allūsiō, from Latin allūdere "to play or romp beside, make a playful allusion to" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at allude

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

allusion

noun

al·​lu·​sion ə-ˈlü-zhən 

: a reference made to something that is not directly mentioned

the book contains many allusions to earlier books

allusive

-ˈlü-siv 

-ziv

adjective

allusively adverb

allusiveness noun