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delusion

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Alzheimer's Symptoms
Memory Loss & Delusions are Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease.
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de⋅lu⋅sion

  [di-loo-zhuhn]
–noun
1. an act or instance of deluding.
2. the state of being deluded.
3. a false belief or opinion: delusions of grandeur.
4. Psychiatry. a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact: a paranoid delusion.
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Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L dēlūsiōn- (s. of dēlūsiō), equiv. to dēlūs(us) (ptp. of dēlūdere; see delude ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
de⋅lu⋅sion⋅al, de⋅lu⋅sion⋅ar⋅y, adjective

Synonyms:
1. deception. See illusion.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Alzheimer's Symptoms
Memory Loss & Delusions are Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease.
www.AlzResourceCenter.com
de·lu·sion   (dĭ-lōō'zhən)   
n.  

    1. The act or process of deluding.

    2. The state of being deluded.

  2. A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand.

  3. Psychiatry A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

delusion

A false belief held despite strong evidence against it; self-deception. Delusions are common in some forms of psychosis. Because of his delusions, the literary character Don Quixote attacks a windmill, thinking it is a giant.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

delusion 
"act of misleading someone," c.1420; as a form of mental derangement, 1552. See delude. Technically, delusion is a belief that, though false, has been surrendered to and accepted by the whole mind as a truth; illusion is an impression that, though false, is entertained provisionally on the recommendation of the senses or the imagination, but awaits full acceptance and may not influence action. Delusions of grandeur attested from 1909.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: de·lu·sion
Pronunciation: di-'lü-zh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the act of deluding : the state of beingdeluded b : an abnormal mental state characterized by the occurrence of psychotic delusions
2 : a false belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside theself that persists despite the facts and occurs in some psychotic states —compare HALLUCINATION 1, ILLUSION 2a
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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delusion de·lu·sion (dĭ-l&oomacr;'zhən)
n.
A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness.

de·lu'sion·al adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
delusion   (dĭ-l'zhən)  Pronunciation Key 
A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness, as in schizophrenia.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

delusion

in psychology, a rigid system of beliefs with which a person is preoccupied and to which the person firmly holds, despite the logical absurdity of the beliefs and a lack of supporting evidence. Delusions are symptomatic of such mental disorders as paranoia, schizophrenia, and major depression and of such physiological conditions as senile psychosis and delirium. They vary in intensity, extent, and coherence and may represent pathological exaggeration of normal tendencies to rationalization, wishful thinking, and the like. Among the most common are delusions of persecution and grandeur; others include delusions of bodily functioning, guilt, love, and control

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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