1
as in illusory
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2
as in delusionary
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Recent Examples of delusional
Among the many obsessive bloggers and observers who cover the industry, the idea was mostly treated as so improbable, even delusional, as to be not even worth taking seriously.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Some incels use the term in a derogatory fashion, believing those who aspire to ascension are delusional.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 8 Apr. 2026
Warriors coach Steve Kerr emerged from the chaos that was Sunday’s 117-116 loss to Houston and offered a quote that felt like a Rorschach test for the delusional or drunk (off Steph Curry’s brilliance, of course).
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026
When this fails to happen—and her hopes of marrying off a perfect daughter are dashed—Barbara grows hateful and ultimately delusional.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026
The study found that a technological flaw already tied to some high-profile cases of delusional and suicidal behavior in vulnerable populations is also pervasive across a wide range of people’s interactions with chatbots.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026
That’s perhaps for the best, given the ongoing discussions surrounding AI psychosis, a troubling trend that has caused an alarming wave of mental health crises as the tech coaxes some users into spirals of paranoid and delusional behavior.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
Just as her mother’s signature quality was yearning, Minnelli’s signature quality is delusional optimism.
—Matt Weinstock, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
This time, the combination of Robby’s short fuse and delusional idealism has diminished returns.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Some incels use the term in a derogatory fashion, believing those who aspire to ascension are delusional.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 8 Apr. 2026
Warriors coach Steve Kerr emerged from the chaos that was Sunday’s 117-116 loss to Houston and offered a quote that felt like a Rorschach test for the delusional or drunk (off Steph Curry’s brilliance, of course).
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026
When this fails to happen—and her hopes of marrying off a perfect daughter are dashed—Barbara grows hateful and ultimately delusional.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026
The study found that a technological flaw already tied to some high-profile cases of delusional and suicidal behavior in vulnerable populations is also pervasive across a wide range of people’s interactions with chatbots.
—Matt O'Brien, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026
That’s perhaps for the best, given the ongoing discussions surrounding AI psychosis, a troubling trend that has caused an alarming wave of mental health crises as the tech coaxes some users into spirals of paranoid and delusional behavior.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
Just as her mother’s signature quality was yearning, Minnelli’s signature quality is delusional optimism.
—Matt Weinstock, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
This time, the combination of Robby’s short fuse and delusional idealism has diminished returns.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delusional
Adjective
-
Its sense of one of the most famous buildings in world history is romantic, fantasy filled and illusory.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Physicists treat the volume of the black hole as illusory, like a hologram.—
Shalma Wegsman,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Scenic designer Beowulf Boritt’s quaint tearoom seems both real and hallucinatory, with a melancholy rain pouring down in the background.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Bret Easton Ellis’s hallucinatory satire of the 1990s fashion world imagines celebrity culture metastasizing into something far darker.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Beginning in 2010, emergency rooms began seeing agitated patients who were violent, paranoid and psychotic after ingesting synthetic cathinones sold as bath salts.—
Jonathan Corum,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Safety awareness hasn’t gone anywhere, but the approach tends to be more strategic, rather than paranoid.—
Lauren Schuster,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This isn’t callousness or delusive optimism but, rather, a rebellion against the suffocating expectation that the elderly have foreclosed the possibility of joy.—
Hillary Kelly,
The New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2024
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To separate art from its historical framework is futile, and to reject it in an effort to censor past violence is a delusive act of virtue signaling.—
WSJ,
WSJ,
5 July 2022
Adjective
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Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Moore acknowledged that Fahim was schizophrenic, but argued that the killings were driven by Fahim’s anger at his workplace dispute with Cuomo, not his mental illness.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
14 Apr. 2026
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In many-minded terms, an octopus’s natural life spans so many lives that the one-minded might call it unnatural or even schizophrenic.—
Mandy-Suzanne Wong,
Longreads,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Floating quietly in the water while these massive creatures moved through the ocean around us felt surreal, the kind of travel moment that lodges permanently in memory.—
Susmita Baral,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Apr. 2026
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In a surreal intertextual turn, Bratu’s Angela, played by Dorina Lazăr, appears in Jude’s contemporary Bucharest.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This uber-neurotic comedian, actor, writer and now recording artist has spent the better part of two decades making audiences laugh, cringe, and cry, often within the same breath.—
Brittany Delay,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
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The original Malcolm in the Middle, in the early 2000s, starred Frankie Muniz as the analytical, neurotic protagonist narrating his family’s daily misadventures.—
Allison McClain Merrill,
Parents,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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And so the super, super devoted fans really do know each other and really are jockeying with each other for position in a way that feels both real and imaginary.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
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No borders and a thin blue line Viewing the Earth from space, White highlights, drives home that the borders that mark our maps are largely imaginary.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delusional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusional. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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