as in illusion
an image that tricks a person's vision
Some may dismiss what we witnessed that night as an optical illusion, but we firmly believe it was a UFO.
Related Words
Relevance
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 optical illusion
But that proved to be an optical illusion.
—
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
The complications showcased in Schulz-Hildebrandt’s nine dot optical illusion is a great example of a phenomenon called simultaneous contrast.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 25 Mar. 2026
Witnessing this optical illusion depends on your exact location.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2026
In visual art, from Byzantine painting up through Renaissance painting, artists actually attempted to physically reproduce perspective, or at least an optical illusion of it.
—Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for optical illusion
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
The complications showcased in Schulz-Hildebrandt’s nine dot optical illusion is a great example of a phenomenon called simultaneous contrast.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 25 Mar. 2026
Witnessing this optical illusion depends on your exact location.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2026
In visual art, from Byzantine painting up through Renaissance painting, artists actually attempted to physically reproduce perspective, or at least an optical illusion of it.
—Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for optical illusion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for optical illusion
Noun
-
While Goodman’s paradoxes and fantasies posed challenges to me as her biographer, with the advent of AI slop and ChatGPT, our courtship with illusion (and possibly delusion) is here to stay.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
-
Van Dyke saw his job less as someone creating CG imagery — of which there was almost none in the sequence — than as a sort of additional set decorator, adding physical elements to sell the illusion.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Twenty years ago, during my first year as a geoscience undergraduate, a lecturer told me that predicting when and where the next major eruption would take place was a pipe dream — the implication being that volcanoes are far too idiosyncratic and mercurial to have much in common with one another.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 May 2026
-
Going higher — into the complex realms of trisqueezing and quadsqueezing — has long been dismissed as an experimental pipe dream.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
The peak of Mercury's apparition (for latitude 40 degrees north) and its greatest elongation from the sun don't occur until the middle of June.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
-
The museum site has been a paranormal hotbed for decades, with sightings of apparitions, security camera footage capturing items flying off shelves, as well as experiences from staff members and visitors.—
Gregory Harutunian,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.—
Dylan Lovan,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Rather than a somewhat normal for Hollywood bakeoff, Paramount plans to kind of smush the two scripts together into one IP chimera.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Optical illusion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/optical%20illusion. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
