delusion definition | Dictionary.com

de⋅lu⋅sion

[di-loo-zhuh

–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.

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. 2009.
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Link To delusion

de·lu·sion (dĭ-lōō'zhən)

1. The act or process of deluding.
2. The state of being deluded.
A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand.
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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Delusion

De*lu"sion\n. [L. delusio, fr. deludere. See Delude.]

1. The act of deluding; deception; a misleading of the mind. --Pope.

2. The state of being deluded or misled.

3. That which is falsely or delusively believed or propagated; false belief; error in belief.

And fondly mourned the dear delusion gone. --Prior.

Syn: Delusion, Illusion.

Usage: These words both imply some deception practiced upon the mind. Delusion is deception from want of knowledge; illusion is deception from morbid imagination. An illusion is a false show, a mere cheat on the fancy or senses. It is, in other words, some idea or image presented to the bodily or mental vision which does not exist in reality. A delusion is a false judgment, usually affecting the real concerns of life. Or, in other words, it is an erroneous view of something which exists indeed, but has by no means the qualities or attributes ascribed to it. Thus we speak of the illusions of fancy, the illusions of hope, illusive prospects, illusive appearances, etc. In like manner, we speak of the delusions of stockjobbing, the delusions of honorable men, delusive appearances in trade, of being deluded by a seeming excellence. "A fanatic, either religious or political, is the subject of strong delusions; while the term illusion is applied solely to the visions of an uncontrolled imagination, the chimerical ideas of one blinded by hope, passion, or credulity, or lastly, to spectral and other ocular deceptions, to which the word delusion is never applied." --Whately.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : delusion

Spanish: falsa ilusión, alucinación,

German: die Wahnvorstellung,

Japanese: 妄想

More Translations »

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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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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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.

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.

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

Learn more about delusion with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Search another word or see delusion on Thesaurus | Reference

Alzheimer's Symptoms
Memory Loss & Delusions are Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease.
www.AlzResourceCenter.com

Delusional Disorder
Delusional Disorder Information. Doctor-Reviewed Info on Healthline.

Healthline.com

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