SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
delusion
noun
A strongly held false belief or misleading impression.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
False belief or impression
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIn ordinary use this means a false belief. A clinical delusion has a narrower meaning, and hallucination is different.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See delusion in use
He labored under the delusion that the difficult assignment could be completed without preparation.
One pursuer's delusion that a brass badge would open every gate persisted even though the story had established that it worked at only one entrance.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license