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
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
The problem was, the AI hallucinated several court cases—complete with fake citations and judges.
—Jj Rosen, Nashville Tennessean, 13 Apr. 2025
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
The problem was, the AI hallucinated several court cases—complete with fake citations and judges.
—Jj Rosen, Nashville Tennessean, 13 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hallucinated
Verb
-
Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
19 Feb. 2026
-
During the trial, jurors learned about grim Google searches Brian had made after his wife died, including how to saw a body and how to clean blood off of wood floors.—
Nicole Acosta,
PEOPLE,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Azzouzi never imagined the driver would plow into the rear of the store, destroying heavy furniture.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
When Camus first imagined great replacement theory in Hérault on the eve of the twenty-first century, his conspiracy theory staggered around the fringes of global politics.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As a kid from La Sabana, Venezuela, Garcia dreamed of playing on the global stage.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Both were bright Hollywood fixtures at the time, but Reynolds dreamed about quitting it all and staying at home.—
Juliana Ukiomogbe,
Architectural Digest,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Horvath previously contemplated a challenge against Bass but ultimately decided to run for reelection for a second term representing the Third Supervisorial District, which stretches from the Ventura County line to Santa Monica, and Hollywood to Sylmar and San Fernando.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
In the fall, the board contemplated using money from its Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund to pay for a similar commemorative garden project.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The new sound became a global fad, even in the locales that exotica artists fantasized about.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
-
In this scenario, Eleven got away and traveled somewhere safe — someplace with multiple waterfalls, just like the ones Mike fantasized about for them.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
These are questions that thinkers, philosophers, and academics have pondered over for centuries.—
Olivia Morelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan once pondered that the extras who make up the hive mind on the dystopian future show should be naked.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
14 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 24 Mar. 2026.
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