ILLUSIONS Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

illusions

noun

plural of illusion

as in dreams

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality the magician specializes in creating illusions, so that people believe they have seen something when they really haven't

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as in delusions

a false idea or belief he had no illusions about how much effort and money the renovation project would require

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of illusions Pokémon cards, a pricey Ferrari shirt and a touristy museum of illusions. — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 When the team built a setup to directly quantify real-time heat flux alongside electrical output, the theoretical illusions collapsed. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026 The myth goes back 2,000 years and holds that the Parthenon, which sits on the Acropolis overlooking Athens, was intentionally constructed with curves to correct various visual illusions and thus appear straight to the human eye. — Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026 Even for the state’s largest single-site employer, with an operating budget approaching $2 billion annually, there are no illusions about being able to provide care for every single airport worker. — Shay Castle, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026 The Hering and Wundt illusions are examples of how straight lines can appear curved if intersecting lines cross them at a certain angle. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026 In each case, however, modern physics has shown these assumptions to be illusions. — Adam Frank, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 Designed by Australian magician and magic consultant Adam Mada, the illusions use a fade box where contestants can be seen disappearing and reappearing on the studio monitors in real time. — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered Europe’s remaining illusions not just about Moscow but also about Beijing. — Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illusions

Noun

In a matter of weeks, when the midterm results are tallied and the next campaign begins, Democrats with presidential dreams know the question will be coming.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
In his dreams, Jose Fiscal Belli is still living an all-American life with his all-American family.

— Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of dreams

Noun

But a line like that also fleshes out the head-in-the-stratosphere delusions of everyone here.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
The company has also been sued by the parents of kids who took their own lives, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged suicide and harmful delusions.

— James Peckham, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of delusions

Noun

Ancient myths and modern cinema depict bogs as sinister locales, dangerous to cross, and fatal to get trapped in.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
But in earlier myths, Al Basty was described as a hearth deity and a protector of women in childbirth.

— Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of myths

Noun

The words cut sharply into the jumble of to-do lists, fantasies, snippets of possible writing, worry, and leftover traces of postpartum depression that constituted my mind in the early months of 1993.

— Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
His search gradually shifts from extraterrestrial fantasies toward the invisible outsiders living among us on Earth.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of fantasies

Noun

When people have little relief from stress in a chaotic environment, their brains have difficulty coping with the ongoing prediction errors, Friston, McEwen and neuroscientist Achim Peters argued in a 2017 article.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Passengers will also be able to fix any name errors on their booking for free.

— Will Barker, TheWeek, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of errors

Noun

The songs on Purdy also have the tone of journal entries, detailing haggard trips to the grocery store, daydreams about his young daughters’ glamorous adult lives, and observations about the banality of oppression.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Walking through prewar Berlin, taking in its historic architecture, Susanna daydreams of her native New York, an ever-changing city where buildings are torn down and rebuilt in the blink of an eye.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of daydreams

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illusionists

illusions

illusive

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“Illusions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illusions. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of illusions

noun

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