Synonyms of delusion

delusion

noun

di-ˈlü-zhən 

1

as in illusion

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality

her idea that her new man is a long lost prince is surely just a delusion

Synonyms & Similar Words

• illusion
• dream
• fantasy
• daydream
• vision
• unreality
• phantasy
• hallucination
• idea
• nightmare
• fantasm
• mirage
• chimera
• imaging
• phantasm
• conceit
• figment
• pipe dream
• castle in the air
• castle in Spain
• fiction
• nonentity
• fancy
• visualization
• concoction
• utopia
• ignis fatuus
• fabrication
• fable
• brainchild
• cloudland
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• will-o'-the-wisp
• invention
• Shangri-la
• envisaging
• daymare

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• actuality

2

as in myth

a false idea or belief

he appears to suffer from the delusion that he's the best reporter in the business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• illusion
• myth
• error
• superstition
• hallucination
• misconception
• misunderstanding
• fallacy
• misbelief
• falsehood
• untruth
• falsity
• pretense
• distortion
• lie
• pretence
• fiction
• misperception
• tale
• old wives' tale
• misapprehension
• misrepresentation
• misinterpretation
• miscomprehension
• misinformation
• misjudgment
• inaccuracy
• misstatement
• sophistry
• sophism
• factoid
• story
• half-truth
• fib
• misknowledge
• misreport

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• verity

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun delusion contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of delusion are hallucination, illusion, and mirage. While all these words 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

When can hallucination be used instead of delusion?

While in some cases nearly identical to delusion, hallucination implies impressions that are the product of disordered senses, as because of mental illness or drugs.

suffered from terrifying hallucinations

Where would illusion be a reasonable alternative to delusion?

The synonyms illusion and delusion are sometimes interchangeable, but illusion implies a false ascribing of reality based on what one sees or imagines.

an illusion of safety

When is it sensible to use mirage instead of delusion?

The words mirage and delusion can be used in similar contexts, but mirage in its extended sense applies to an illusory vision, dream, hope, or aim.

claimed a balanced budget is a mirage

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of delusion

The mere idea of these technologies can be enough to inspire paranoid delusions. —Conor Feehly, Scientific American, 24 Aug. 2025

In this sense, the Acosta interview is just a product of what feels like a collective delusion. —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2025

But almost any retrospective coverage of anything in football — particularly, it must be said, from the 1990s — is so overwhelmingly positive to the point of delusion. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025

In 2010, she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder—a mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms. —Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025