Synonym Chooser

How does the noun hallucination contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of hallucination are delusion, illusion, and mirage. While all these words mean "something that is believed to be true or real but that is actually false or unreal," hallucination implies impressions that are the product of disordered senses, as because of mental illness or drugs.

suffered from terrifying hallucinations

When is it sensible to use delusion instead of hallucination?

The words delusion and hallucination are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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

When can illusion be used instead of hallucination?

Although the words illusion and hallucination have much in common, illusion implies a false ascribing of reality based on what one sees or imagines.

an illusion of safety

When is mirage a more appropriate choice than hallucination?

While in some cases nearly identical to hallucination, mirage in its extended sense applies to an illusory vision, dream, hope, or aim.

claimed a balanced budget is a mirage

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 hallucination At only age 51, Deter had been experiencing memory problems, disorientation and hallucinations. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025 Eventually, a site plan would emerge from this collaborative hallucination, hopefully revealing the wreck’s orientation on the bottom. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025 The explanations behind its decisions are only as reliable as the data and models behind them, raising concerns about hallucination where AI generates plausible-sounding yet incorrect reasoning. David Paffenholz, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025 The giants, led by Goliath, are neat to behold, but Saul’s hallucinations quickly grow tiresome, the least interesting way to show a secure monarch succumbing to paranoia. Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hallucination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hallucination
Noun
  • The wide front porch gives the illusion that the open-plan living and kitchen area extends past the exterior walls, through the (optional) all-glass double doors to the great outdoors.
    Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The actress added square-toe boots and wore her blonde hair in a slicked style. 12 of 18 Alessandra Ambrosio For the Balenciaga Paris Fashion Week show, Alessandra Ambrosio opted for a navy blue sweater paired with illusion lingerie on the bottom.
    Catherine Santino, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The guests are just monkeys with delusions of grandeur and civilization.
    Joe Joyce, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The series, produced by AMC Studios, is set within the delusion bubble of Silicon Valley.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The sweetness of growing into a man whose dreams— like leaves or a bird’s nest— came to life.
    Henri Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Soraya excels in science and math, and dreams of becoming a doctor an accountant.
    Maryanne Murray Buechner, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • When the team compared the genetic obesity risk scores with the data gathered from the questionnaires, quite a few myths got busted.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Kennedy’s reaction to measles outbreaks alarms public health experts because the former lawyer embraces myths that vitamin A and cod liver oil are effective against the virus.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The entries are a mixture of sense memory, adolescent embarrassment, nostalgic fashions and foods, daydreams, and anything else that falls through the sieve of Brainard’s disarmingly casual syntax.
    David S. Wallace, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Panda Bear: Sinister Grift [Domino] Noah Lennox brings the sunshine—and, for the first time on a Panda Bear album, nearly all of his Animal Collective bandmates—on Sinister Grift, an album of spongy psychedelic daydreams and melodies that yearn and enchant.
    Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Except that is a simplification of what the original dialogue says, and a localization error with big consequences.
    Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 15 Mar. 2025
  • This week, fans began to read into what was either a slip-up or an error on the Starfield Creations website that showed at least one mod, now deleted, as having a PS logo as well as Xbox and PC.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Its packaging, a jewel-like blue bottle engraved with a golden lotus, looks like it was plucked from a fantasy apothecary in the night sky.
    Jenny Berg, Allure, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The fantasy series, based on the novels by Robert Jordan, raises new stakes in its third season for Our Heroes.
    Leigh Butler, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • His lack of physical presence was an issue for O’Neil but his game is even further removed from Pereira’s vision of an ideal centre-back, so a parting of the ways there in the summer also appears likely.
    Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
  • But changing the title seems to be the only concession Mulaney has made from his original vision.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hallucination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hallucination. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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