OPTICAL ILLUSION Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

optical illusion

noun

Definition of optical illusion

as in illusion

an image that tricks a person's vision Some may dismiss what we witnessed that night as an optical illusion, but we firmly believe it was a UFO.

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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 optical illusion Day and night aren't exactly 12 hours long on the day of the equinox because the Earth's atmosphere refracts, or bends, light in an optical illusion that brings more daylight than there really is. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026 This optical illusion, known as a ‘parallax’, often leads to viewers reaching the wrong conclusion and amateur VARs on social media drawing the wrong lines. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 Had conservatives taken sexy back, or was this all just an optical illusion, not unlike the kind created by a padded bra or a pair of Spanx? — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 Adventure seekers should make time for Xplor’s zip lines and underground cave system, while Xenses provides a playful take on nature complete with optical illusions. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for optical illusion

Recent Examples of Synonyms for optical illusion

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
Growing up in Wyoming’s rugged realities left no illusion that humans are solely in control.

— Amelia Rose Barlow, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of illusion

Noun

The location was a former sugarcane plantation notorious for cruelty, and accounts of apparitions in the water are a reminder of this history.

— Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
After the vocal chorus, Astaire sees an apparition—Pan, costumed in Halloween drag.

— David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of apparition

Noun

The new era of worker power that labor advocates proclaimed as the pandemic ebbed was something of a chimera.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Mixed into a suspension of cellulose nanoparticles and then frozen, the customised chimera formed a flexible molecular skeleton that dramatically increases the tensile strength of the surrounding ice.

— Mike McRae September 16, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of chimera

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optical

optical illusion

optical illusions

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“Optical illusion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/optical%20illusion. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of optical illusion

noun

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