as in saw
to see or sense something or someone that is not really there; to have hallucinations
The patient may hallucinate if she has a fever.
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Recent Examples of hallucinated
Last year, a Los Angeles attorney was fined for submitting a filing full of legal citations that were hallucinated by ChatGPT.
—
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The report was riddled with fake citations that appeared to be hallucinated by AI, which the White House attributed to formatting errors; HHS then corrected the report by removing the false citations and swapping in new references.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sonatype’s research found that GPT-5 hallucinated nearly 28% of component versions and, without real-time intelligence, even recommended malware.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The weather was accurate but the towns were hallucinated by the computer program.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2026
And that’s assuming ChatGPT hasn’t hallucinated anything.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2025
Regardless, the guides require reading comprehension skills and don’t offer random, hallucinated, or uncited thoughts about the text.
—Joelle Renstrom
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Zane Wach, 14, hallucinated and walked off a cliff while climbing Mount Whitney in Northern California on June 10.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For example, the o3 and o4 reasoning models that came out in April hallucinated more than their predecessors, TechCrunch reports.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The report was riddled with fake citations that appeared to be hallucinated by AI, which the White House attributed to formatting errors; HHS then corrected the report by removing the false citations and swapping in new references.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sonatype’s research found that GPT-5 hallucinated nearly 28% of component versions and, without real-time intelligence, even recommended malware.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The weather was accurate but the towns were hallucinated by the computer program.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2026
And that’s assuming ChatGPT hasn’t hallucinated anything.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2025
Regardless, the guides require reading comprehension skills and don’t offer random, hallucinated, or uncited thoughts about the text.
—Joelle Renstrom
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Zane Wach, 14, hallucinated and walked off a cliff while climbing Mount Whitney in Northern California on June 10.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For example, the o3 and o4 reasoning models that came out in April hallucinated more than their predecessors, TechCrunch reports.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hallucinated
Verb
-
Moving a blade back and forth to try to saw biscuits apart will make their layers stick (and ruin the rise).—
Ella Quittner,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That leads you at times to think Mantello has imagined the play — with its flashbacks as Willy imagines the road not taken — as taking place inside Willy’s head.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Instead of swing sets or seesaws, Noguchi imagined the land itself forming ridges, steps, and mounds that would invite free-form play.—
Terry Nguyen,
ARTnews.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Morgan once dreamed of being an actress in New York and is growing restless as a schoolteacher in a stale relationship with Max (Jack Innanen), who she’s known forever.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Glover is a Pomona native who dreamed of becoming an astronaut while flying through the air as a pole vaulter at Ontario High School.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the darkened foyer, Ember contemplated this unassuming bit of paper, momentarily paralyzed by a mixture of dread and excitement stirred together, an overpowering sensation that oozed from the crown of her head, down the length of her body, then hardened, like a soft golden resin becoming solid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
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By contrast, the SAVE America Act, as contemplated by the president, would ban most forms of mail voting and require photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For years the sisters had fantasized, half-seriously, about having their own YouTube channel.—
Scot Paltrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The new sound became a global fad, even in the locales that exotica artists fantasized about.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon pondered in a press statement.—
Kiana Mickles,
Pitchfork,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Someone who has pondered such niceties is Richard Posner, a former circuit judge and a prolific legal scholar.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Every vessel was visualized clearly.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The story follows struggling creatives navigating debt, eviction threats and a precarious gig economy, visualized in Riley’s inventive style — from looming piles of eviction notices to characters literally struggling up and down steep inclines that mirror the instability of their lives.—
Deborah Sengupta Stith,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hallucinated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hallucinated. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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