pareidolia

[ pair-ahy-doh-lee-uh, pair-uh- ]

noun

the illusory perception of meaningful patterns or images of familiar things in random or amorphous data, as a face seen on the moon.

Origin of pareidolia

First recorded in 1960–65; from German Pareidolien, plural of Pareidolie, equivalent to par(a)-¹ + eidol(on) + -ia, reinterpreted as a singular noun

Words Nearby pareidolia

pardoner
Pardubice
pare
paregmenon
paregoric
pareidolia
pareira
pareira brava
paren.
parenchyma
parens

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for pareidolia

pareidolia

/ (ˌpæraɪˈdəʊlɪə) /

noun

the imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features

Origin of pareidolia

C20: from para- 4 + eidolon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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