delusion


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delusion

a persistent false belief: A paranoiac has delusions of persecution.
Not to be confused with:
illusion – misinterpretation of things that exist: A mirage is an illusion caused by atmospheric conditions.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

de·lu·sion

 (dĭ-lo͞o′zhən)
n.
1.
a. The act or process of deluding.
b. The state of being deluded.
2.
a. A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand.
b. Psychiatry A false belief or perception that is a manifestation of a mental illness: delusions of persecution.

[Middle English delusioun, from Latin dēlūsiō, dēlūsiōn-, from dēlūsus, past participle of dēlūdere, to delude; see delude.]

de·lu′sion·al adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

delusion

(dɪˈluːʒən)
n
1. (Psychiatry) a mistaken or misleading opinion, idea, belief, etc: he has delusions of grandeur.
2. (Psychiatry) psychiatry a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason. See also illusion, hallucination
3. (Psychiatry) the act of deluding or state of being deluded
deˈlusional, deˈlusionary adj
deˈlusive adj
deˈlusively adv
deˈlusiveness n
delusory adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•lu•sion

(dɪˈlu ʒən)

n.
1. an act or instance of deluding.
2. the state of being deluded.
3. a false belief or opinion: delusions of grandeur.
4. a false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact: a paranoid delusion.
[1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin dēlūsiō; see delude, -tion]
de•lu′sion•al, de•lu′sion•ar′y, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

illusion

delusion

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

They have the illusion that every contingency can be worked out in advance.
One patient had the delusion that he was Trotsky.

You say that someone is under an illusion or delusion.

Finally, I think he wanted me because he was under the illusion that I was loaded with money.
I still laboured under the nice middle-class delusion that everyone was a good guy at heart.

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.

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.
1. 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.

It might be an optical illusion but he actually seems to lift some horses in races when they are tired.
I fancy I can hear her voice, but that must be an illusion.

You do not use delusion with this meaning.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.delusion - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrarydelusion - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary
psychological science, psychology - the science of mental life
mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state - (psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic; "a manic state"
delusions of grandeur - a delusion (common in paranoia) that you are much greater and more powerful and influential than you really are
delusions of persecution - a delusion (common in paranoia) that others are out to get you and frustrate and embarrass you or inflict suffering on you; a complicated conspiracy is frequently imagined
hallucination - illusory perception; a common symptom of severe mental disorder
nihilistic delusion, nihilism - the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal
somatic delusion - a delusion concerning the body image or parts of the body
zoanthropy - the delusion that you have assumed the form of an animal
2.delusion - a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; "he has delusions of competence"; "his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination"
misconception - an incorrect conception
disorientation, freak out - a wild delusion (especially one induced by a hallucinogenic drug)
3.delusion - the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas
dissimulation, deception, dissembling, deceit - the act of deceiving
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

delusion

noun misconception, mistaken idea, misapprehension, fancy, illusion, deception, hallucination, fallacy, self-deception, false impression, phantasm, misbelief I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

delusion

noun
An erroneous perception of reality:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
خِداع، غِشغرور
bludhalucinace
vrangforestilling
harhakuvitelma
hugarórar; ranghugmynd
blud

delusion

[dɪˈluːʒən] N (= false impression) → engaño m, error m; (= hope) → ilusión f (Psych) → delirio m
delusions of grandeurdelirios mpl de grandeza
to labour under a delusionabrigar una falsa ilusión
she's labouring under the delusion that she's going to get the jobabriga la falsa ilusión de que va a conseguir el puesto, se engaña pensando que va a conseguir el puesto
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

delusion

[dɪˈluːʒən] nillusion f
to be under the delusion that ... → croire naïvement que ...
to have delusions of grandeur, to suffer from delusions of grandeur → avoir la folie des grandeurs
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

delusion

nIllusion f, → Irrglaube m no pl; (Psych) → Wahnvorstellung f; to be or labour (Brit) or labor (US) under a delusionin einem Wahn leben; to have delusions of grandeurden Größenwahn haben
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

delusion

[dɪˈluːʒn] nillusione f (Psych) → fissazione f
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

delude

(diˈluːd) verb
to deceive or mislead (usually without actually telling lies). She deluded herself into thinking he cared for her.
deˈlusion (-ʒən) noun
a false belief, especially as a symptom of mental illness. The young man was suffering from delusions.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

de·lu·sion

n. delirio, decepción, engaño; creencias falsas;
___ of control___ de control;
___ of grandeur___ de grandeza;
___ of negation___ de negación;
___ of persecution___ de persecución.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

delusion

n delirio, falsa creencia patológica; delusions of grandeur delirios de grandeza
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
"Sheer delusion would be the more correct form of expression," the doctor rejoins.
Pleasant sheds tears deserving her own name, and her sweet delusion is at its height.
Backward they always gaze toward dark ages: then, indeed, were delusion and faith something different.
It is my conviction, or my delusion, no matter which, that crime brings its own fatality with it.
But there are none; and our forefathers soon became convinced that they had been led into a terrible delusion. All the prisoners on account of witchcraft were set free.
You are under a delusion," said Prince Vasili, as he entered.
It would be wasted time to try to argue her out of her delusion, it couldn't be done; I must just humor it.
Making all allowance for the follies that men committed every day in their relations with women, Montbarry's delusion was still the most monstrous delusion on record.
It is plain, then, that phrenologically the head of this Leviathan, in the creature's living intact state, is an entire delusion. As for his true brain, you can then see no indications of it, nor feel any.
It was an ugly story of low passion, delusion, and waking from delusion, which needs not to be dragged from the privacy of Godfrey's bitter memory.
"If you persist in returning to your delusion," she said, "you will oblige me to persist in returning to my papers."
I would go out into the streets to fight with my delusion, and prowling women would mew after me; furtive, craving men glance jealously at me; weary, pale workers go coughing by me with tired eyes and eager paces, like wounded deer dripping blood; old people, bent and dull, pass murmuring to themselves; and, all unheeding, a ragged tail of gibing children.