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.

One gallery features Duchamp’s inventive films, machines and printed illusions involving optical movement.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

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

After that, there were no illusions about it.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

Villa are under no illusions about the challenge ahead as they head into the semi-final against Forest as tournament favourites.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

I refused, even though I no longer had any illusions about what an education could do for me; I had already encountered too many college-graduate handymen.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin