Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

Thesaurus

delusion

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of delusion

1 a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
  • The patient is suffering from delusions and hallucinations.
Synonyms of delusion

chimera, conceit, daydream, dream, fancy, fantasy (also phantasy), figment, hallucination, illusion, nonentity, phantasm (also fantasm), pipe dream, unreality, vision
Words Related to delusion

ignis fatuus, mirage, will-o'-the-wisp

brainchild, idea

concoction, fable, fabrication, fiction, invention

envisaging, imaging, visualization

cloud-cuckoo-land, cloudland, Shangri-la, utopia

daymare, nightmare
Phrases Synonymous with delusion

castle in Spain, castle in the air
Near Antonyms of delusion

actuality, fact, reality
2 a false idea or belief
  • He appears to suffer from the delusion that he'll be able to finish on time.
Synonyms of delusion

error, fallacy, falsehood, falsity, hallucination, illusion, misbelief, misconception, myth, old wives' tale, untruth
Words Related to delusion

factoid

superstition

fiction, pretense (or pretence)

distortion, inaccuracy, misapprehension, miscomprehension, misinterpretation, misjudgment, misperception, misunderstanding

misinformation, misknowledge, misreport, misrepresentation, misstatement

sophism, sophistry

fib, half-truth, lie, story, tale
Antonyms of delusion

truth, verity

Synonym Discussion of delusion

delusion, illusion, hallucination, mirage mean something that is believed to be true or real but that is actually false or unreal. 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

Learn More about delusion

  1. See words that rhyme with delusion Dictionary: Definition of delusion Medical Dictionary: Definition of delusion Spanish Central: Translation of delusion Nglish: Translation of delusion for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of delusion for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about delusion

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up delusion? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games