illusions

NOUN

false appearance; false belief

Synonyms

STRONGEST

confusion deception delusion fantasy hallucination image misconception myth pipe dream semblance

STRONG

apparition bubble chimera daydream error fallacy fancy ghost hocus-pocus invention make-believe mirage misapprehension mockery paramnesia phantasm rainbow trip

WEAK

déjà vu false impression figment of imagination fool's paradise head trip idolism ignus fatuus misbelief misimpression optical illusion seeming virtual reality

Antonyms

STRONGEST

fact reality truth

STRONG

being certainty correction right

WEAK

event

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Put simply, physics appears to allow the possibility that our memories are not reliable records but instead detailed illusions produced by chance.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2026

The authors—Mr. Dutkiewicz is an assistant professor at the Pratt Institute, Mr. Rosenberg is an associate professor at Duke University—harbor few illusions about the past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

I'm under no illusions how difficult it will be but I'm not going to retire because something I tried didn't work for me.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

There’s magic, and then there are magic tricks, manufactured illusions, sleight-of-hand acts of pseudo-sorcery.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

I can even paint moving illusions now, which are tricky because you have to concentrate so hard to make the movements look natural.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston