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 duo pushes the concept of illusion versus reality to the extreme, personally and professionally, until tragedy reframes and opens a mystery surrounding their last fateful Las Vegas show.—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025 While magicians use illusions to make objects float, physicists pursue levitation for its practical advantages.—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2025 While the illusion is happening on the outside, the couple are safely inside their home.—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2025 Even on just one wall, a large landscape mural creates the illusion of depth in a small room.—Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Oct. 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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