delusion

[ dih-loo-zhuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of deluding.

   Synonyms: deception

2. the state of being deluded.
3. a false belief or opinion:

   delusions of grandeur.

4. Psychiatry. a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact:

   a paranoid delusion.

delusion

/ dɪˈluːʒən; dɪˈluːsərɪ /

noun

1. a mistaken or misleading opinion, idea, belief, etc

   he has delusions of grandeur

2. psychiatry a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason See also illusion hallucination
3. the act of deluding or state of being deluded

delusion

/ dĭ-lo̅o̅′zhən /

1. A false belief or perception strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness, as in schizophrenia.

delusion

1. 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.

Derived Forms

• deˈlusive, adjective
• delusory, adjective
• deˈlusiveness, noun
• deˈlusively, adverb
• deˈlusional, adjective

Other Words From

• de·lusion·al de·lusion·ary adjective
• prede·lusion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of delusion¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin dēlūsiōn- (stem of dēlūsiō ), equivalent to dēlūs(us) (past participle of dēlūdere; delude ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonym Study

See illusion.

Example Sentences

The good news is a swipe left or the word "no" punctuated with a laugh will relieve them of this delusion.

From Salon

This, maybe, is a measure of my own delusion—I can’t bring myself to rise every morning if I think it’s all a wash.

From Slate

But it’s the delusion and mendacity on display at Giuliani’s press conference that have more powerfully shaped American political culture.

From Los Angeles Times

Maybe it’s cause matchmaking the Chalamets with fans feels forced like a stan Twitter, parasocial delusion.

From Salon

But these responses are best understood as symptoms of our national neurotic delusion: the delusion that no one can really be that evil; the delusion that our system will prevent him from doing what he says he will do; the delusion that sociopaths don’t really exist.

From Slate

Related Words

• deception
• fantasy
• hallucination
• illusion
• pipe dream