delusional

adjective

1
as in illusory

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in delusionary

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of delusional So much so, in fact, that cybersecurity researchers warn that criminals can easily weaponize delusional AI outputs to spread malware throughout the internet. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 29 July 2026 Of course, many fans of clubs are so delusional that the facts are irrelevant. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 23 July 2026 None of these pronouncements has panned out; some have bordered on delusional. — Robin Wright, New Yorker, 17 July 2026 For Slattery, what begins as an exercise in comic self-demolition gradually becomes the movie’s biggest surprise, with the actor turning a desperate, delusional version of himself into its most unexpectedly lovable character. — Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026 Grief experts are wary of these potential harms, too — especially since several major AI companies faced wrongful death lawsuits claiming AI chatbots encouraged self-harm or pushed users into delusional mental states. — Ella Chakarian, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2026 In an interview with NPR, Wolff said neighbors, family, and teachers all agreed that Saldaño was sometimes delusional and unable to understand such simple directions as how to cross the street without being hit by a car. — Nina Totenberg, NPR, 22 June 2026 And 15 percent reported that their patients developed delusional thinking associated with the AI use. — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 June 2026 There are a lot of delusional people involved in this, too. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delusional
  1. illusory
  2. paranoid
  3. hallucinatory
  4. schizophrenic
  5. delusive
  6. neurotic
  7. surreal
  8. schizoid
Adjective
  • Conversations need grounding as intuitive Moon in your 3rd House of Communication opposes illusory Neptune in your 9th House of Travel and Learning, so facts and visions compete.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026
  • That is, real, not merely illusory, measures, so that the allure to breach peace for imagined gains is overshadowed.
    — Keith Tidman, Baltimore Sun, 15 June 2026
Definition of illusory
Adjective
  • Nathan, already distracted, gets paranoid that Coop and Joe are laughing at him.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The accusations only make Winifred, who has secretly been dealing with a rapidly fraying psyche, more paranoid, leading to bloody and dangerous consequences.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 30 July 2026
Definition of paranoid
Adjective
  • This facilitated a new segment at the end of this movie where Hathaway fights a hallucinatory version of the Nu Gundam piloted by Amuro.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of hallucinatory
Adjective
  • As her life is starting, her mother suffers from an acute schizophrenic episode.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 16 June 2026
  • Americans call the sport soccer, the rest of the world calls it football, and therein lies the rub, the disconnection at the heart of the schizophrenic All-American life of Gilbert Chevalier.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Definition of schizophrenic
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
  • 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
Definition of delusive
Adjective
  • In the artist, unlike the neurotic personality, stuckness can be hard to distinguish from integrity.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The sitcom — which ran for eight seasons on ABC, from 1986, to 1993 — starred Pinchot as Balki, an optimistic immigrant from a fictional island called Mypos who moves in with his neurotic cousin, Larry, played by Mark Linn-Baker.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
Definition of neurotic
Adjective
  • According to Schaffer, just as surreal as directing the former president was chatting with him during the downtime of the four-hour shoot.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • With iconic natural landmarks like El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park has long been at the top of my travel list, and my first visit felt surreal.
    — Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of surreal
Adjective
  • The idea of a schizoid Lady M is not entirely without appeal, but despite strong performances across the board, the work runs aground fast.
    — Rhoda Feng, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
  • The entire movie, of course, was a goof, a schizoid cardboard Vaudeville horror burlesque shot in two days and a night by Roger Corman.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Definition of schizoid

Browse Nearby Words

delusion
delusional
delusionary
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Cite this Entry

“Delusional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusional. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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