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.”
delusion implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind.
delusions of persecution
illusion implies a false ascribing of reality based on what one sees or imagines.
an illusion of safety
hallucination implies impressions that are the product of disordered senses, as because of mental illness or drugs.
suffered from terrifying hallucinations
mirage in its extended sense applies to an illusory vision, dream, hope, or aim.
claimed a balanced budget is a mirage
Examples of illusion in a Sentence
The video game is designed to give the illusion that you are in control of an airplane.
They used paint to create the illusion of metal.
She says that all progress is just an illusion.
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The entire space was stunned by the illusion of water gushing and animals moving toward the audience.—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 28 May 2025 Donald Trump started selling the illusion of exclusivity half a century ago.—Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 27 May 2025 Dreams turn fantomes into monsters because holding onto illusions makes reality too painful.—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2025 But the illusion of paradise is shattered when another guest is found dead and Gabriel becomes the prime suspect.—Laura Thompson, New York Times, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for illusion
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin illusion-, illusio, from Latin, action of mocking, from illudere to mock at, from in- + ludere to play, mock — more at ludicrous
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