1
as in dream
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delusion
a false idea or belief
he had no illusions about how much effort and money the renovation project would require
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illusion
Any approach built on that illusion will backfire.
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Ricardo Torres, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
The stage show will feature an original story and songs, incorporating stage-to-video interaction, acrobatics, aerial choreography, illusion, dance and puppetry.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
But as the season goes on, there should be no illusions about the challenges that remain.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
During an on-stage demonstration at this year’s CES convention in Las Vegas, Boston Dynamics showed off the agility of its humanoid Atlas robot — albeit with an unnerving degree of freedom of movement that dispels the illusion of a human entity.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illusion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illusion
Noun
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But as his son’s college dreams were coming into focus, Dominique thought about his own path and upbringing.—
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Most cops have hero dreams, protector fantasies that sustain them through days that are mostly mundane.—
Noun
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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke said paralytic dementia symptoms can include delusions along with memory and language problems.—
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But in this version, set in a contemporary world resembling our own, where politics is a spectacle, the main character’s delusions revolve around television.—
Noun
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And, once again, fantasies of surgical strikes are yielding to messy realities.—
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As that tension escalates, battles — between good and evil, fantasy and reality, collapse and triumph — ensue.—
Noun
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Because of this rare condition, superstitions and myths have permeated certain African countries, both positive and negative.—
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Ignore the one-page resume ‘myth’ DeMase recommends certain nuts-and-bolts resume formatting guidelines to further help make it through applicant tracking system firewalls.—
Noun
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Thinking globally and acting locally means electing people of vision, not people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag without a lobbyist lighting their way under the table, or down the wrong path where for-profit companies rule and teachers are scapegoated for society's failures.—
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Harbaugh discussed his vision for the team and his coaching staff.—
Noun
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The federal government primarily finances supplemental food benefits, but the state’s share is determined, in part, by its management, as indicated by its rate of error when determining people’s eligibility.—
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The research depended on computer simulations, which meant that tiny adjustments to the initial state of the digital fluid (or any digital rounding errors) wouldn’t affect the fluid’s fate.—
Noun
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Bob Weir, the singer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, whose songs about sunshine daydreams and truckin’ helped turn the jam band into a 60-year musical empire, has died at age 78.—
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Season 5, after all, is framed by Mike and Eleven’s daydream of a conversation in the first episode.—
Noun
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To hear about a mass shooting in another city is to feel one is at the periphery of ongoing history; but perversely, to live near the site of a shooting is to feel nothing has changed except that unreality has come closer.—
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In giving each of its characters new foils, the unreality of the show finally takes off.—
Cite this Entry
“Illusion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illusion. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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