ILLUSIONS Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

illusions

noun

plural of illusion

as in dreams

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality the magician specializes in creating illusions, so that people believe they have seen something when they really haven't

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as in delusions

a false idea or belief he had no illusions about how much effort and money the renovation project would require

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of illusions Every Saturday morning, about 190 starry-eyed students ages 10 to 18 attend classes in everything from puppetry, mime and clowning to juggling, card tricks, illusions, mentalism, stage magic, theater production and escapology. — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026 Pokémon cards, a pricey Ferrari shirt and a touristy museum of illusions. — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 When the team built a setup to directly quantify real-time heat flux alongside electrical output, the theoretical illusions collapsed. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026 The myth goes back 2,000 years and holds that the Parthenon, which sits on the Acropolis overlooking Athens, was intentionally constructed with curves to correct various visual illusions and thus appear straight to the human eye. — Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026 Even for the state’s largest single-site employer, with an operating budget approaching $2 billion annually, there are no illusions about being able to provide care for every single airport worker. — Shay Castle, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026 The Hering and Wundt illusions are examples of how straight lines can appear curved if intersecting lines cross them at a certain angle. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026 Designed by Australian magician and magic consultant Adam Mada, the illusions use a fade box where contestants can be seen disappearing and reappearing on the studio monitors in real time. — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered Europe’s remaining illusions not just about Moscow but also about Beijing. — Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illusions

Noun

Dellucci and his teammates had fulfilled their personal dreams and made history as the fastest franchise to win a World Series.

— Don Riddell, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
The name draws on rapid eye movement, the stage of sleep associated with vivid dreams.

— Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of dreams

Noun

Some opening day effects are long gone, such as the illusion created by actual shifting doors at the start of the attraction, or visions of tumbling rubble near its beginning.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Polls now show the two running neck-and-neck in a race marked by sharply different visions for Brazil’s economy, security and place in the world.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of visions

Noun

Also intertwined are ancient myths of warring city-states, the raw, moody poetry of John Keats, and the modern battle between a faithless husband and his wife, the poem’s raging speaker.

— Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
But Brigid also appears throughout the early Irish myths as a member of the aes sidhe.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of myths

Noun

The words cut sharply into the jumble of to-do lists, fantasies, snippets of possible writing, worry, and leftover traces of postpartum depression that constituted my mind in the early months of 1993.

— Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
Every week, the critics and editors at The New York Times Book Review pick the most interesting and notable new releases, from literary fiction and serious nonfiction to thrillers, romance novels, fantasies, mysteries and everything in between.

— New York Times, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of fantasies

Noun

Verizon’s 2026 healthcare breach snapshot identifies vulnerability exploitation, phishing and credential abuse among initial access routes, alongside persistent staff errors and misconfigurations.

— Aliasgar Dohadwala, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Potential industrial applications This was then used to tell the robot’s limbs what moves to make, all the while monitoring the cube’s state to check and correct for errors.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of errors

Noun

This helps warm up the imagination; daydreams, nightmares are easy ways in.

— Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
The songs on Purdy also have the tone of journal entries, detailing haggard trips to the grocery store, daydreams about his young daughters’ glamorous adult lives, and observations about the banality of oppression.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of daydreams

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illusionists

illusions

illusive

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“Illusions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illusions. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of illusions

noun

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