hallucination

American  

[huh-loo-suh-ney-shuhn] / həˌlu səˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images.

   Synonyms:

   aberration, phantasm

2. the sensation caused by a hallucinatory condition, or the object or scene visualized.

3. a false notion, belief, or impression; illusion; delusion.

4. Computers, Digital Technology. (in the field of machine learning) false information generated by a machine learning program contrary to the intent of the user and presented as if it were true and factual.

---

hallucination British  

/ həˌluːsɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the alleged perception of an object when no object is present, occurring under hypnosis, in some mental disorders, etc

---

hallucination Cultural  

1. A false perception that appears to be real, as when, for example, a man dying of thirst in a desert thinks that he sees a lake. (See also delusion.)

---

Usage

What is a hallucination? A hallucination is a sensory experience of something that does not actually exist and has no basis in reality. Hallucinations can be caused by mental disorders or toxic substances. A hallucination often takes the form of visual images or noises, as in Sangeet saw a hallucination of sparkling lights. Hallucination can also be used to refer to the sensation caused by one of these false sensory experiences, as in Roman was suffering from drug-induced hallucinations. More generally, hallucination can be used to mean a false notion or belief, as in His idea of what life was like in Canada was nothing more than a silly hallucination. Hallucination is similar to the words illusion and delusion, 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 delusion is a persistent, false belief that may or may not be partially based on reality, as in The athlete’s huge ego constantly made him have delusions of being unbeatable. Example: The explorer suffered from terrifying hallucinations of ghosts and phantoms after eating the toxic mushrooms.

Synonym Usage

See illusion.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hallucinative
  adjective
• hallucinational
  adjective
• nonhallucination
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hallucination

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin hallūcinātiōn-, stem of hallūcinātiō, variant of (h)ālūcinātiō, “a wandering of the mind”; hallucinate + -ion

Explanation

If you see your teacher morph into a dancing elephant, chances are you’re having a hallucination, or an illusory perception. In other words, it sounds like you are seeing things! A person experiencing a hallucination perceives things that aren’t really there. A hallucination can involve any of the senses — including sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste — and often results from a mental disorder or a chemical source, such as a drug.

Example Sentences

Denmark's Sissal takes a similar sound, with a throwback Euro-bop called Hallucination that effortlessly evokes two-time Eurovision winner Loreen.

From BBC • May 9, 2025

Hallucination: A well-known phenomenon in large language models, in which the system provides an answer that is factually incorrect, irrelevant or nonsensical, because of limitations in its training data and architecture.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2023

We pass a restaurant called The Ultimate Hallucination and the Chimay makes this seem very profound.

From The Guardian • May 23, 2013

Hallucination again, the decade's leitmotiv of illusion: now you see it, now you don't.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Hallucination is the only charitable——" "You are sure, George, that it was not a woman."

From The Wonderful Visit by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Related Words

• illusion
• phantom