pareidolia

noun

par·​ei·​do·​lia ˌper-ˌī-ˈdō-lē-ə 

-ˈdōl-yə

: the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern

The scientific explanation for some people is pareidolia, or the human ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness. Think of the Rorschach inkblot test.

—Pamela Ferdinand

compare apophenia

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The human propensity to see familiar objects in ambiguous patterns is called pareidolia. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 17 May 2023

The phenomenon even has a name, pareidolia. —Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 2 June 2017

The phenomenon's fancy name is facial pareidolia. —Jennifer Ouellette, Wired, 14 July 2021

Partly that's down to the design of the lights, which should set off your pareidolia, and partly down to what now passes for a relatively low hood height, with curved edges finding favor over sharp creases at the corners. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 6 July 2022

To find out whether monkeys experience face pareidolia, the scientists studied five rhesus macaques in the lab. —Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 25 Aug. 2017

Compared to healthy controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease did not experience any more pareidolia than controls. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 1 June 2012

The second experiment was similar, except both real faces and pareidolia images were randomly combined in the trials. —Jennifer Ouellette, Wired, 14 July 2021

Because of its trademark kidney grille, BMW's cars always suffer from pareidolia. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 7 Sep. 2017

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Pareidolie, from Greek par- para- entry 1 + eídōlon "image, reflection" + German -ie -ia entry 1 — more at idol

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

pareidolia

noun

par·​ei·​do·​lia ˌper-ˌī-ˈdōl-ē-ə, -ˈdōl-yə 

: the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful, image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern

The human brain is optimized to recognize faces, which could also explain why we are so good at picking out meaningful shapes in random patterns. This phenomenon, pareidolia, could be responsible for a host of otherwise unexplained sightings, such as the face of the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich.

—New Scientist

compare apophenia