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

Examples of hallucination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web How much of the story is hallucination and how much is real matters less than experiencing a journey both joyous and enigmatic. The Week Us, theweek, 15 Oct. 2024 Nvidia’s numbers aren’t a hallucination Nvidia shares rose 2.4% to close at $138.07, a new record for the stock. Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024 To name a few, companies are struggling to wade through the hype, figure out what use cases AI is good for, navigate fast-moving regulation, protect their IT stacks from AI sprawl, deal with hallucinations, and confront a variety of intricate copyright, security, privacy, and compliance concerns. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024 Irrelevant and outdated information could cause hallucinations and undesirable behavior. Gregorio Alejandro Patiño Zabala, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hallucination 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hallucination.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Thesaurus Entries Near hallucination

Cite this Entry

“Hallucination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hallucination. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!