Illusory Meaning
/ɪˈluː.sə.ɹiː/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjResulting from an illusion; deceptive, imaginary, unreal.
Sentence Examples
From the stuff of dreams, the mind makes egos, fragile and illusory constructions.
The difference between being and non-being is illusory.
My religion is work and science, everything else is illusory.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hope of easy money was ____ and it led to great disappointment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The promise of quick and easy wealth proved to be ____ and led many people into debt.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French illusorie (modern French illusoire), derived from Latin illūsōrius (“mocking, ironical”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The invalidity of a cognition is the otherwiseness of its object, and is known by a sublating cognition. The illusory cognition of silver knows illusory silver, but does not know its otherwiseness."
— 1973, Jadunath Sinha, A History of Indian Philosophy, volume 4, page 174:
"Yet for this new womanosphere, the response is not advancing policies like paid family leave or affordable childcare, but to return to an idealized, illusory past where being a wife and mother was viewed as a woman’s sole purpose."
— 2025 April 24, Anna Silman, “Now comes the ‘womanosphere’: the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The hope of easy money was ____ and it led to great disappointment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The promise of quick and easy wealth proved to be ____ and led many people into debt.