1
as in illusory
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2
as in delusionary
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Recent Examples of delusional
Anyone who thinks Bloomberg was a good mayor is completely delusional.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
The standout cast also includes Zach Galifianakis, Lucy Punch, Simon Helberg, and Rob Corddry, with many of their characters also striving—and carrying delusional views of their own worth.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
The chronic daydreamer can easily identify with Catherine’s near-delusional longing for something to happen beyond the courtships and evenings around the pianoforte that seem to make up the better part of her future.
—Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Nicholson portrays a delusional stalker whom viewers will warm to, while Weaving skewers celebrity culture.
—Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Jan. 2026
The job of connecting with someone who is withdrawn or delusional is always a work in progress.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 31 Dec. 2025
But, the newspaper reported, the change caused harmful psychological effects for vulnerable users, including cases of delusional thinking, dependency, and even self-harm.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 26 Dec. 2025
The cat section positions him as both emotionally vulnerable and plausibly delusional.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
About a quarter of participants reported delusional beliefs surrounding social media.
—Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
The standout cast also includes Zach Galifianakis, Lucy Punch, Simon Helberg, and Rob Corddry, with many of their characters also striving—and carrying delusional views of their own worth.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
The chronic daydreamer can easily identify with Catherine’s near-delusional longing for something to happen beyond the courtships and evenings around the pianoforte that seem to make up the better part of her future.
—Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Nicholson portrays a delusional stalker whom viewers will warm to, while Weaving skewers celebrity culture.
—Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Jan. 2026
The job of connecting with someone who is withdrawn or delusional is always a work in progress.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 31 Dec. 2025
But, the newspaper reported, the change caused harmful psychological effects for vulnerable users, including cases of delusional thinking, dependency, and even self-harm.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 26 Dec. 2025
The cat section positions him as both emotionally vulnerable and plausibly delusional.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
About a quarter of participants reported delusional beliefs surrounding social media.
—Alaina Vandervoort Burns, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delusional
Adjective
-
Trump’s pursuit of an illusory sphere of influence is unlikely to bring us peace or prosperity—any more than the invasion of Ukraine brought peace and prosperity to Russians—and this might become clear sooner than anyone expects.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Time may be an absolute, but our measurements of it are illusory.—
Christian Wiman,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Experimental musician Delia Beatriz pays homage to Mexican cumbia rebajada using digital processing to manipulate archival recordings into fields of warped texture and hallucinatory drone.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
-
One scene involves Varang poisoning Quaritch with a mysterious hallucinatory drug that compels him to tell the truth about his motivations.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
20 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Namir Smallwood stars opposite Coon as Peter, a paranoid former soldier and mysterious drifter who meets her character Agnes, a lonely waitress.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Trump had won by fifty-three points there in 2016, and Greene’s paranoid pugnacity seemed like a good fit, if voters could stomach an outsider.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 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
-
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
-
The actor first came to prominence with an acclaimed turn as a schizophrenic man in the 1993 indie film Clean, Shaven.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
13 Dec. 2025
-
While the Nuggets themselves are coming off a schizophrenic and inconsistent week, to put it kindly, after home losses to Sacramento and San Antonio, the Blue Arrow has quietly been tying a bow around his most productive November ever.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
29 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Its surreal position—perched high on a cliff above the eastern coastline—makes views from almost any spot, balcony, window, heart-thumping ones.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
-
For Rousouli, bringing the show to Broadway after nearly a decade feels surreal.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.—
Mirin Fader,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Erin Somers,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delusional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delusional. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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