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Showing results for illusory. Search instead for illusoril.
Definitions

illusory

[ih-loo-suh-ree, -zuh-] / ɪˈlu sə ri, -zə- /
ADJECTIVE
deceptive
Synonyms
STRONGEST
false hallucinatory misleading unreal whimsical
WEAK
Barmecidal apparent blue-sky chimerical deceitful delusive delusory fallacious fanciful fantastic fictional fictitious fictive float ideal illusive imaginary mistaken ostensible pipe dream seeming semblant sham suppositious supposititious untrue visionary
Antonyms
STRONGEST
genuine honest real truthful

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.

We eagerly drink in the discord because the stakes are illusory, even if the high-strung emotions turn out to be real.

From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026

And these numbers are “nominal,” meaning they include the illusory gains that come from inflation.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 3, 2025

Toner-Rodgers’s illusory success seems in part thanks to the dynamics he has now upset: an academic culture at MIT where high levels of trust, integrity and rigor are all—for better or worse—assumed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 22, 2025

And yet they still experienced the illusory effects of the figure.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2025

Despite generations of effort, this proved illusory, because dip and deviation change unpredictably over time.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.