Hallucination Meaning
/həˌluːsɪˈneɪʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA sensory perception of something that does not exist, often arising from disorder of the nervous system, as in delirium tremens.
nounThe act of hallucinating; a wandering of the mind; an error, mistake or blunder.
Sentence Examples
All you saw was a hallucination.
Was it a hallucination or a daydream?
I've never heard of a hallucination being so vivid and terrifying.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ made him see things that were not real.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient experienced a vivid ____ caused by the high fever, as he thought he saw giant insects on the ceiling.
Word Origin & History
Derives from the verb hallucinate, from Latin hallucinatus. Compare French hallucination. The first known usage in the English language is from Sir Thomas Browne.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Hallucinations are always evidence of cerebral derangement and are common phenomena of insanity."
— 1871, William Alexander Hammond, A Treatise on the Diseases of the Nervous System:
"The authorities said that the spinach had caused “possible food-related toxic reactions” with those affected experiencing symptoms including delirium, hallucinations, blurred vision, rapid heartbeat and fever."
— 2022 December 18, Yan Zhuang, “How Can Tainted Spinach Cause Hallucinations?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"This must have been the hallucination of the transcriber."
— 1712 September 8 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, August 29, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 470; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
"Chatbots even forget that they are a bot and experience "hallucinations", Meta's description for when a bot confidently says something that is not true."
— 2022 August 8, Liam Tung, “Meta warns its new chatbot may forget that it's a bot”, in ZDNET:
"Hallucinations are about adhering to the truth; when A.I. systems get confused, they have a bad habit of making things up rather than admitting their difficulties."
— 2022 December 16, Farhad Manjoo, “ChatGPT Has a Devastating Sense of Humor”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ made him see things that were not real.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient experienced a vivid ____ caused by the high fever, as he thought he saw giant insects on the ceiling.