Synonyms for illusion
ɪˈlu ʒənil·lu·sion

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. illusion

   A delusion is a mistaken conviction, an illusion a mistaken perception or inference. An illusion may be wholly of the senses; a delusion always involves some mental error. In an optical illusion the observer sees either what does not exist, or what exists otherwise than as he sees it, as when in a mirage distant springs and trees appear close at hand. We speak of the illusions of fancy or of hope, but of the delusions of the insane. A hallucination is a false image or belief which has nothing, outside of the disordered mind, to suggest it; as, the hallucinations of delirium tremens. Compare DECEPTION; INSANITY.

   Synonyms:
   delusion, error, fallacy, hallucination, phantasm

   Antonyms:
   actuality, certainty, fact, reality, truth, verity

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. illusion

   Synonyms:
   dream, mockery, deception, delusion, hallucination, phantasm, vision, myth, false show, error, fallacy

   Antonyms:
   fora, reality, body, substance

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. illusion, semblancenoun

   an erroneous mental representation

   Synonyms:
   deception, legerdemain, fantasy, trick, delusion, phantasy, magic trick, thaumaturgy, head game, color, fancy, semblance, likeness, colour, magic, gloss, conjuration, conjuring trick

2. illusion, fantasy, phantasy, fancynoun

   something many people believe that is false

   "they have the illusion that I am very wealthy"

   Synonyms:
   deception, legerdemain, fantasy, trick, delusion, phantasy, magic trick, thaumaturgy, head game, conjuring trick, fancy, fondness, semblance, magic, conjuration, partiality

3. delusion, illusion, head gamenoun

   the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas

   Synonyms:
   hallucination, deception, legerdemain, psychotic belief, fantasy, trick, delusion, phantasy, magic trick, head game, conjuring trick, fancy, thaumaturgy, magic, conjuration, semblance

4. magic trick, conjuring trick, trick, magic, legerdemain, conjuration, thaumaturgy, illusion, deceptionnoun

   an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers

   Synonyms:
   deception, fantasy, joke, trick, incantation, legerdemain, phantasy, magic trick, dissembling, caper, semblance, head game, put-on, fast one, dissimulation, fancy, delusion, thaumaturgy, antic, conjury, prank, misrepresentation, magic, invocation, whoremaster, john, conjuration, deceit, whoremonger, conjuring trick, conjuring

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. illusionnoun

   Synonyms:
   delusion, hallucination, deception, error, fallacy, mockery, fantasy, phantasm, chimera, false show

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. illusionnoun

   Synonyms:
   mockery, hallucination, chimera, phantasm, delusion, glamour

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "illusion":

   delusion, mirage, fantasy, self-delusion, chimera, illusory, somethingthat, fallacy, self-deception, decoy

Suggested Resources

1. illusion

   Song lyrics by illusion -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by illusion on the Lyrics.com website.

2. Illusion

   Illusion vs. Delusion -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Illusion and Delusion.

3. Illusion

   Allusion vs. Illusion -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Allusion and Illusion.

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How to use illusion in a sentence?

1. John Appleby:

   As the election promises roll in, we should be under no illusion about the money, staff and time it will take to turn this situation around.

2. Douglas Adams:

   Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

3. Elizabeth Warren:

   The news caused a stir. But the question of whether a woman could win the presidency was clearly on voters' minds, and it would come up in debates and town halls, when asked, I always told an upbeat story about why I believed success was within our grasp, but I was under no illusion -- I knew that winning would be an uphill battle.

4. James Scott:

   The narrative illusion introduces a “mind virus”, which is a syntactical contagion that spreads through communicative vectors and colonizes the cognitive biases of the targeted individual’s psychology, thus transforming the mental processes of that target.

5. Chuck Schumer:

   Senate Democrats are under no illusion that we face difficult odds, especially when virtually every Senate Republican is staunchly against legislation protecting the right to vote, but I want to be clear : when this chamber confronts a question this important, one so vital to our country, so vital to our ideals, so vital to the future of our democracy, you don't slide it off the table and say, never mind.