ə̇ˈlüzhən also ə̇lˈyü- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English illusioun, from Middle French illusion, from Late Latin illusion-, illusio, from Latin, action of mocking, jeering, from illusus (past participle of illudere to mock or jeer at, from in- in- (II) + ludere to play, mock, jeer) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at ludicrous
1.
a. obsolete : the action of deceiving or attempting to deceive
b.
(1) : the state or fact of being intellectually deceived or deluded or misled by others or by oneself either intentionally or unintentionally in such a way as to have false impressions or ideas marked by the attribution of more to something or less to something than is actually the case : misapprehension , misconception , delusion , fancy
the happy illusions of youth
(2) : an instance of such deception or delusion
a dreamy life that was filled with one illusion after another
2.
a.
(1) : a misleading image presented to the vision : false show ; specifically : apparition
these were all an illusion and a phantasma, a thing that appeared, but did not really exist — F.W.Robertson
(2) : something that deceives or deludes or misleads intellectually in such a way as to produce false impressions or ideas that exaggerate or minimize reality or that attribute existence to what does not exist or nonexistence to what does exist
most modern great men are mere illusions sprung out of a national hunger for greatness — Sherwood Anderson
b.
(1) : perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause or permit misinterpretation of its actual nature either because of the ambiguous qualities of the thing perceived or because of the personal characteristics of the one perceiving or because of both factors
heat rays shimmering on the road produced the illusion of pools of water
the horizontal lines cause an optical illusion , making the object appear in a different position from what it really is in — Richard Jefferies
(2) : hallucination 1a
(3) : a pattern capable of reversible perspective
3. : a fine plain transparent bobbinet or tulle usually of silk and used for veils, trimmings, dresses
[s]illusion.jpg[/s] [
illusion 2a(1): a and b are equal in length
]