illusion - delusion

illusion - delusion
You can use either of these words to say that someone has a wrong belief.

You have the illusion that you're doing something.

One patient had the delusion that he was Trotsky.

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You say that someone is under an illusion or delusion.

We were under the happy illusion that we should be able to find a charming country cottage for about £1 a week.

I still laboured under the nice middle-class delusion that everyone was a good guy at heart.

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You can also say that someone suffers from an illusion or delusion.

A man who has had a leg amputated often suffers from the delusion that the leg is still there.

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If you have an illusion of something, you believe that it exists when in fact it does not.

We have an illusion of freedom.

In return they are allowed the illusion of a guiltless life.

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another meaning of 'illusion'
An illusion is also something that looks or sounds like one thing, but is either something else or is not there at all.

The thing, being related to his eye-movements, must be some optical illusion.

I fancy I can hear her voice, but that must be an illusion.

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You do not use delusion with this meaning.
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Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Illusion — Il*lu sion, n. [F. illusion, L. illusio, fr. illudere, illusum, to illude. See {Illude}.] 1. An unreal image presented to the bodily or mental vision; a deceptive appearance; a false show; mockery; hallucination. [1913 Webster] To cheat the eye… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • illusion — *delusion, mirage, hallucination Analogous words: imagination, fancy, fantasy: *sensation, percept, sense datum, sensum, image …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Illusion — An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. [ Solso, R. L. (2001). Cognitive psychology (6th… …   Wikipedia

  • delusion — delusion, illusion, hallucination, mirage denote something which is believed to be or is accepted as being true or real but which is actually false or unreal. Delusion in general implies self deception or deception by others; it may connote a… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • delusion — delusion, illusion overlap in meaning because both are to do with things wrongly believed or thought for various reasons. There is, however, a distinguishing principle: a delusion is a wrong belief regarded from the point of view of the person… …   Modern English usage

  • illusion — delusion, illusion overlap in meaning because both are to do with things wrongly believed or thought for various reasons. There is, however, a distinguishing principle: a delusion is a wrong belief regarded from the point of view of the person… …   Modern English usage

  • Delusion — De*lu sion . [L. delusio, fr. deludere. See {Delude}.] 1. The act of deluding; deception; a misleading of the mind. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2. The state of being deluded or misled. [1913 Webster] 3. That which is falsely or delusively believed or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • delusion — [di lo͞o′zhən] n. [ME delusioun < LL delusio < delusus, pp. of deludere] 1. a deluding or being deluded 2. a false belief or opinion 3. Psychiatry a false, persistent belief maintained in spite of evidence to the contrary delusional adj.… …   English World dictionary

  • delusion — [n] misconception, misbelief apparition, blunder, casuistry, chicanery, daydream, deception, deceptiveness, dream, eidolon, error, fallacy, false impression, fancy, fantasy, figment*, fool’s paradise*, ghost, hallucination, head trip*, ignis… …   New thesaurus

  • illusion — [i lo͞o′zhən] n. [ME illusioun < OFr illusion < L illusio, a mocking (in LL(Ec), deceit, illusion) < illusus, pp. of illudere, to mock, play with < in , on + ludere, to play: see LUDICROUS] 1. a false idea or conception; belief or… …   English World dictionary

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