1
as in illusory
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2
as in delusionary
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Recent Examples of delusional
His critics have attacked his platform as delusional and dangerous.
—
Marianne Pizzitola, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
For my follow-on analysis of details about the OpenAI lawsuit and how AI can foster delusional thinking in humans, see my analysis at the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The relentless news coverage was inevitably going to trigger people with delusional psychoses or inspire those with schemes for cash or fame.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Coalitional parties do make governing harder, but the same factions that frustrate also guard against delusional thinking that leads to devastating losses.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 27 Jan. 2026
No matter how locked in you are to your own ideological positions, anyone claiming to have truly wrapped their mind around AI is delusional.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026
Over the past year, Futurism‘s reporting has uncovered many stories of AI users who, despite successfully managing mental illness for years, suffered devastating breakdowns after being pulled into delusional spirals with ChatGPT and other chatbots.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 21 Jan. 2026
As a purely historical matter, this is delusional.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2026
Marianne Pizzitola, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
For my follow-on analysis of details about the OpenAI lawsuit and how AI can foster delusional thinking in humans, see my analysis at the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The relentless news coverage was inevitably going to trigger people with delusional psychoses or inspire those with schemes for cash or fame.
—Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Coalitional parties do make governing harder, but the same factions that frustrate also guard against delusional thinking that leads to devastating losses.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 27 Jan. 2026
No matter how locked in you are to your own ideological positions, anyone claiming to have truly wrapped their mind around AI is delusional.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026
Over the past year, Futurism‘s reporting has uncovered many stories of AI users who, despite successfully managing mental illness for years, suffered devastating breakdowns after being pulled into delusional spirals with ChatGPT and other chatbots.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 21 Jan. 2026
As a purely historical matter, this is delusional.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delusional
Adjective
-
Put another way, the self can be both illusory and real, or real enough.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Growth has been weak and illusory.—
Ariel Cohen,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The script leans heavily on exposition — internal monologues, disembodied intercom voices, and hallucinatory flashbacks — to communicate lore that might have resonated more powerfully through action or environment.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
29 Jan. 2026
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Its first big splash came at the Venice Film Festival in 2023 with AGGRO DR1FT, an 80-minute, Travis Scott–co-starring fever dream shot entirely through thermal lenses and built to feel less like a movie than a game-like, hallucinatory experience.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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By the way, the last scene of The Conversation has the paranoid Gene Hackman destroying his apartment in a desperate and futile search for listening devices.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Natalie is paranoid about having taken food from Stephen.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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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The ongoing controversy surrounding the police shooting of a mentalliy ill Queens schizophrenic man who charged at cops with a knife ratcheted up a notch Wednesday with the release of 911 audio the NYPD says makes clear police were going to be responding to the episode.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
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The most compelling aspect of Newsom’s biography is his schizophrenic upbringing, vis-à-vis wealth.—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Babu describes their first day filming as surreal.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
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In many neighborhoods of Chicago, the scene was surreal early that Groundhog Day morning.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Of the many incarnations of the narcissist, there is the braggart, and there is also the neurotic.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
6 Dec. 2025
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Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Finally, the researchers did another version of the original test but used imaginary grapes instead of juice, with similar results.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Unfortunately, the new love in your life may be imaginary and only after your bank account.—
C. A. Bridges,
Florida Times-Union,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delusional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusional. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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