apophenia
Americannoun
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.
Scientists call this tendency to find meaningful patterns in randomness "apophenia."
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
The believability of a false narrative is reinforced by what psychologists call apophenia, defined as the proclivity to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated things.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2023
More importantly, I learned how easy it is to fool yourself into perceiving a pattern where none exists — a phenomenon called apophenia, "the condition of seeing or imagining patterns in random occurrences."
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
It is as if they are instructing her in the art of apophenia, or illusory pattern-finding.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2014
The literature about post-traumatic stress disorder is also suggestive of a role for apophenia.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2014
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
