Meaning & use
delusion
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Meanings
nouncountable
A false belief that someone holds firmly even when there is clear evidence against it.
Grammar: Countable: a delusion, delusions. Often used in the plural for a pattern of false beliefs.
Patterns
- a delusion that
- under a delusion
- suffer from delusions
He was under the delusion that everyone admired him.
Her belief that she could fly was a dangerous delusion.
The patient suffered from delusions of grandeur.
nouncountablemedicalspecialist
In psychology and medicine, a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason and not shared by others.
Grammar: Used as a technical term in psychiatry; often appears in phrases like 'delusions of persecution'.
Patterns
- delusions of persecution
- delusions of grandeur
- a delusional disorder
The psychiatrist noted that the patient's delusions were persistent.
Delusions of persecution are a common symptom in some mental illnesses.
nouncountable
A mistaken idea or hope that many people hold but that is not true.
Grammar: Often used in the plural to describe widely held false beliefs.
Patterns
- the delusion that
- a common delusion
It is a delusion to think that money alone brings happiness.
The idea that we can solve everything with technology is a delusion.
Word forms
| plural | delusions |
|---|
Common combinations
- delusions of grandeur
- His delusions of grandeur made him believe he was a genius.
- under a delusion
- She was under the delusion that she had won the lottery.
- suffer from delusions
- People who suffer from delusions may need professional help.
- a dangerous delusion
- Thinking you are invincible is a dangerous delusion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- misconception
- A wrong idea based on faulty thinking, but not as strong or fixed as a delusion.
- illusion
- A false perception of something that actually exists, like a mirage; a delusion is a false belief.
- hallucination
- Seeing or hearing something that is not there; a delusion is a false belief, not a sensory experience.
Opposites
Word family
- delusional adjective
- Having false beliefs; based on delusion.
- delude verb
- To make someone believe something that is not true.
- delusively adverb
- In a way that is based on false beliefs.
Commonly confused: delusion or illusion? delusion or delusion vs. delusion?
delusion vs illusion
An illusion is a false impression of the senses (like an optical illusion); a delusion is a false belief held in the mind.
delusion vs delusion vs. delusion
No common confusion.
Practice
He was under the ______ that he could pass the exam without studying.
Choose one answer.
'Delusion' fits the fixed phrase 'under the delusion that' and refers to a false belief. 'Illusion' is a sensory trick, 'hallucination' is seeing or hearing something that isn't there, and 'misconception' is a wrong idea but not used in this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “delusion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.