Meaning & use
illusion of invulnerability
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Meanings
phrasecountable
A false belief that you or your group cannot be harmed or defeated, common when people feel too confident.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an illusion of invulnerability' or 'the illusion of invulnerability'.
Patterns
- an illusion of invulnerability
- the illusion of invulnerability
- have an illusion of invulnerability
After winning three games, the team developed an illusion of invulnerability and stopped practicing hard.
The report warned that the illusion of invulnerability among leaders led to poor decisions.
Investors often suffer from an illusion of invulnerability during a rising market.
phrasecountablespecialist
In psychology, a group's shared belief that it is safe from failure or criticism, which can lead to risky choices.
Grammar: Used in technical writing about group dynamics; often follows 'the'.
Patterns
- the illusion of invulnerability in a group
- create an illusion of invulnerability
Irving Janis described the illusion of invulnerability as a symptom of groupthink.
When everyone agrees too quickly, an illusion of invulnerability can take hold.
Common combinations
- develop an illusion of invulnerability
- The soldiers developed an illusion of invulnerability after several easy victories.
- suffer from an illusion of invulnerability
- Teenagers often suffer from an illusion of invulnerability when driving fast.
- the illusion of invulnerability among leaders
- The illusion of invulnerability among leaders can lead to disastrous wars.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overconfidence
- Overconfidence is a general feeling of being too sure; the illusion of invulnerability is specifically the false belief that no harm can come to you.
- false sense of security
- This means feeling safe when you are not; it is close, but it does not always involve believing you cannot be harmed.
Opposites
Commonly confused: illusion of invulnerability or invincibility?
illusion of invulnerability vs invincibility
Invincibility means being impossible to defeat, often used of armies or heroes; the illusion of invulnerability is the mistaken belief in that state.
Practice
The team's ______ made them ignore clear warnings about the other side's strength.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'illusion of invulnerability', with 'of' connecting the two nouns. The other options change the order or omit 'of' and are not standard English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “illusion of invulnerability”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.