Synonyms of hallucination

hallucination

noun

hə-ˌlü-sə-ˈnā-shən 

1

as in dream

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality

were the voices real, or merely a hallucination?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dream
• illusion
• daydream
• vision
• fantasy
• delusion
• unreality
• idea
• phantasm
• nightmare
• figment
• chimera
• mirage
• pipe dream
• castle in the air
• imaging
• castle in Spain
• conceit
• nonentity
• fiction
• fancy
• concoction
• visualization
• ignis fatuus
• utopia
• fabrication
• brainchild
• fable
• cloudland
• will-o'-the-wisp
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• invention
• envisaging
• Shangri-la
• daymare

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• actuality

2

as in delusion

a false idea or belief

the common hallucination that gluttony during the holiday season doesn't have consequences

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delusion
• illusion
• myth
• error
• superstition
• misunderstanding
• misconception
• fallacy
• misbelief
• falsehood
• untruth
• falsity
• distortion
• fiction
• old wives' tale
• tale
• pretense
• lie
• misperception
• misinterpretation
• misrepresentation
• miscomprehension
• misjudgment
• inaccuracy
• misapprehension
• misstatement
• misinformation
• story
• factoid
• sophism
• sophistry
• half-truth
• fib
• misknowledge
• misreport

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• verity

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun hallucination contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of hallucination are delusion, illusion, and mirage. While all these words mean "something that is believed to be true or real but that is actually false or unreal," hallucination implies impressions that are the product of disordered senses, as because of mental illness or drugs.

suffered from terrifying hallucinations

When is it sensible to use delusion instead of hallucination?

The words delusion and hallucination are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, delusion implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind.

delusions of persecution

When can illusion be used instead of hallucination?

Although the words illusion and hallucination have much in common, illusion implies a false ascribing of reality based on what one sees or imagines.

an illusion of safety

When is mirage a more appropriate choice than hallucination?

While in some cases nearly identical to hallucination, mirage in its extended sense applies to an illusory vision, dream, hope, or aim.

claimed a balanced budget is a mirage

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hallucination

The hallucination problem – where models generate fluent but factually incorrect text – is especially acute in translation because the reviewer often cannot read the source language. —Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Arize tests and monitors RAG pipelines as well as the agents and applications built on them—debugging and hunting down errors and hallucinations. —Erik German, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026

Toss in plenty of brutal murders, bizarre prophecies, time-bending enigmas, and haunting hallucinations — all seemingly tied to Lucy’s mysterious meetings with the Hannibal Lecter-like Gideon Shepherd (Peter Capaldi) — and this one's well worth losing six hours of sleep over. —Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026

Models can also make things up, a tendency known as hallucination. —Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026