hallucinate

play

verb hal·lu·ci·nate \hə-ˈlü-sə-ˌnāt\

Definition of hallucinate

hallucinated

;

hallucinating

transitive verb
1 : to affect with visions or imaginary perceptions
2 : to perceive or experience as a hallucination
intransitive verb
: to have hallucinations

hallucinator

play \hə-ˈlü-sə-ˌnā-tər\ noun

See hallucinate defined for English-language learners

See hallucinate defined for kids

Examples of hallucinate in a Sentence

The patient may hallucinate if she has a fever.

Recent Examples of hallucinate from the Web

Piacsek and other scientists are skeptical of stories about people hallucinating in anechoic chambers — and the supposed 45-minute record.

— sandi doughton, The Seattle Times, "A room where sound goes to die — and scientists go to study", 3 July 2017
No, the former director of the San Diego Zoo wasn’t hallucinating in the Miami heat.

— chabeli herrera, miamiherald, "Jungle Island is getting a new identity: an action-adventure park", 18 June 2017
In the 22nd hour of his solo New York-to-Paris flight, 1,000 feet above the foggy Atlantic, desperately fighting off fatigue, Charles Lindbergh hallucinates that other people are with him aboard the Spirit of St. Louis.

— george petras, USA TODAY, "Soaring 'Flight' goes into the cockpit with Lindbergh", 15 May 2017
An inner madness rises to the surface, and a society hallucinates in public while its neighbors marvel and hide the children.

— bruce sterling, WIRED, "Bill McKibben, limpid voice of reason", 13 Oct. 2010

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hallucinate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.