as in references
a statement that refers to something without mentioning it directly
The lyrics contain biblical allusions.
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Recent Examples of allusions
The film is not pretentious about its literary allusions though.
—
Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
Not just the bookish scavenger hunt, but also the culture of people speaking and thinking in literary allusions and textual analysis.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Following her announcement of her 12th studio album, Taylor Swift released the album's tracklist and cover, both of which exhibit allusions to some of the Bard's most notable works.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
There are lyrical allusions to morphine and a pretty, romantic melody.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2025
In fact, the debate over the American constitution prompted many of the Founding Fathers to write under false names — many of them obvious allusions to the Roman Republic or ancient philosophy.
—Scotty Hendricks, Big Think, 18 Feb. 2025
The text is stuffed with allusions to high street brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Barneys, and more.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
The suggestion that Romy could lose everything at any moment is reaffirmed by Samuel’s dialogue and a pointed conversation with an older male power player in her company who makes allusions to knowing what happened with her (now former) intern near the end of the film.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 26 Dec. 2024
The incoming administration has made several allusions to the use of ZBB, which theoretically allows the government to clean the slate and determine which activities to fund versus simply adopting last year’s funding level, adjusting for inflation, and budgeting from there.
—Doug Criscitello, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
Not just the bookish scavenger hunt, but also the culture of people speaking and thinking in literary allusions and textual analysis.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Following her announcement of her 12th studio album, Taylor Swift released the album's tracklist and cover, both of which exhibit allusions to some of the Bard's most notable works.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
There are lyrical allusions to morphine and a pretty, romantic melody.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2025
In fact, the debate over the American constitution prompted many of the Founding Fathers to write under false names — many of them obvious allusions to the Roman Republic or ancient philosophy.
—Scotty Hendricks, Big Think, 18 Feb. 2025
The text is stuffed with allusions to high street brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Barneys, and more.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
The suggestion that Romy could lose everything at any moment is reaffirmed by Samuel’s dialogue and a pointed conversation with an older male power player in her company who makes allusions to knowing what happened with her (now former) intern near the end of the film.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 26 Dec. 2024
The incoming administration has made several allusions to the use of ZBB, which theoretically allows the government to clean the slate and determine which activities to fund versus simply adopting last year’s funding level, adjusting for inflation, and budgeting from there.
—Doug Criscitello, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allusions
Noun
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The capsule collection, featuring 24 new pieces of apparel and references to characters like Sally and Jack Skellington, officially launches on Gap’s website on Thursday.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
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Trump and his hogmen are co-opting actual Nazi lingo from the gutter of the internet, speaking in references only Fox News viewers and Q-Anon adherents can parse, and rehabilitating the r-word as some sort of edgy pose that the rest of us learned was cruel in middle school.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Similarly, business strategists and accountants work together on the financial and risk implications of organizational transformations such as IPOs, and other growth strategies.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
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The transition to non-human users of payment systems has interesting implications on business models.—
David G.W. Birch,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Allusions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allusions. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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