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delusion
/ dɪˈluːʒən; dɪˈluːsərɪ /
noun
- a mistaken or misleading opinion, idea, belief, etc
he has delusions of grandeur
- See hallucination, illusionpsychiatry a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason See also illusion hallucination
- the act of deluding or state of being deluded
delusion
/ dĭ-lo̅o̅′zhən /
- A false belief or perception strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness, as in schizophrenia.
delusion
- A false belief held despite strong evidence against it; self-deception. Delusions are common in some forms of psychosis . Because of his delusions, the literary character Don Quixote attacks a windmill, thinking it is a giant.
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Derived Forms
- delusory, adjective
- deˈlusiveness, noun
- deˈlusive, adjective
- deˈlusively, adverb
- deˈlusional, adjective
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Other Words From
- de·lusion·al de·lusion·ary adjective
- prede·lusion noun
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Word History and Origins
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
“It seems to have forced those people onto darker, scarier apps where their delusion and bloodlust can run wild,” Dorsey allowed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov retorted that Navalny had delusions of grandeur, paranoia and a “Freudian fixation” on his underwear.
A nation unwilling to tell the truth about itself to itself will circle its delusions until there is nothing left to tether it to reality.
Those keywords — delusion, justice, accountability and freedom — name and organize the four short essays that provide most of the book’s pages.
What’s more, we are willing to lessen the criminal penalty if the person was deprived of free will, for instance if they were in the grip of a schizophrenic delusion.
I suffer from no delusion that the justice system treats black and white equally.
The Hannity-esque delusion of a post-racial America is ill-informed at best and bigoted at worst.
To his fellow survivors and to the audience, this delusion indicates another slip on a downward spiral.
Like Miller, Wolf suffers from the radical self-delusion that mistakes bonkers political views for uncommonly brave opinion.
Dawkins is an adept cultural fire-conductor; the title of his bestselling book The God Delusion gives a clear indicator why.
It was directed to Mr. Carr, and said as plainly as look could say, "Don't undeceive her; keep up the delusion."
Dining the eminent members of my constituency on horse-meat, under the delusion that what is good for chickens is good for votes.
The horrible phantasy had faded from her mind with the morning light, and she would try and think of it as a mental delusion.
She found this imaginary phenomenon to be soothing rather than otherwise, and resigned herself almost eagerly to the delusion.
The delusion of the red figure with the knife had passed for a moment, and the king's eyes were closed.
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Related Words
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More About Delusion
What is a delusion?
A delusion is a false belief or opinion, especially one held in resistance to strong evidence against it, as in Even after losing five straight championships, Heather still had the delusion that she was the best in the world.
In psychiatry, delusion is used to mean an unshakeable belief in something that isn’t true. They believe it because they have a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia.
More generally, delusion can be used to mean an act of deluding, as in The crowd didn’t fall for the swindler’s attempts at delusion.
Delusion can also refer to the state of being deluded, as in The emperor’s delusion was the work of the evil, scheming vizier.
Delusion is similar to the words illusion and hallucination, which also describe false beliefs or experiences. An illusion is a false image that is a result of a distortion or manipulation of actual things. For example, makeup can create the illusion that a person is younger than they actually are.
A hallucination is a false sensory experience that isn’t rooted in reality at all. On the other hand, a delusion is often somewhat based on reality but a person’s belief is inaccurate due to wrong information or their own hubris.
Example: Despite his low test scores, Gerard strongly believed the delusion that he was the smartest kid in the class.
Where does delusion come from?
The first records of the term delusion come from around 1375. It ultimately comes from the Latin dēlūdere, which means “to play false.”
When you have a delusion, you earnestly believe the false thing. If you don’t actually believe it, it’s not a delusion.
While psychiatric delusions are caused by mental disorders, general delusions are more often attributed to things like stubbornness, naiveté, or narcissism. Most of the time, we can admit we were wrong when someone shows us evidence that our belief is inaccurate. A person with delusions, however, will claim the evidence itself is wrong or fake, and it will take a tremendous amount of effort to convince them of the true reality, if they can be convinced at all.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to delusion?
- delusional (adjective)
- delusionary (adjective)
- predelusion (noun)
What are some synonyms for delusion?
What are some words that share a root or word element with delusion?
What are some words that often get used in discussing delusion?
What are some words delusion may be commonly confused with?
How is delusion used in real life?
In general, the word delusion is often used to harshly criticize a person’s opinion or beliefs.
One snake attack and now I'm nervous of rustling bushes. How dare they disrupt my delusions of invincibility?!
— Stefan L (@_Stefan88) October 15, 2009
Just thinking about how a lot of peoples idea of revenge is based on a delusion that others care about them one way or the other.
— Liz Harvey (@_lizharvey) June 21, 2019
An absolutely enormous number of smokers I encounter insist they are not addicted to nicotine, but instead have an “oral fixation.” How did this bizarre delusion become so widespread?
— @hamiltonmorris (@HamiltonMorris) March 12, 2018
Try using delusion!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of delusion?
A. fantasy
B. deception
C. reality
D. misconception
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