hallucination

[ huh-loo-suh-ney-shuhn ]
/ həˌlu səˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images.
the sensation caused by a hallucinatory condition or the object or scene visualized.
a false notion, belief, or impression; illusion; delusion.

Origin of hallucination

1640–50; < Latin hallūcinātiōn- (stem of ( h)allūcinātiō) a wandering of the mind. See hallucinate, -ion

SYNONYMS FOR hallucination

1 phantasm, aberration. See illusion.

OTHER WORDS FROM hallucination

hal·lu·ci·na·tion·al, hal·lu·ci·na·tive [huh-loo-suh-ney-tiv, -nuh-tiv] /həˈlu səˌneɪ tɪv, -nə tɪv/, adjective non·hal·lu·ci·na·tion, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hallucination

allusion delusion elusion hallucination illusion (see synonym study at illusion)

Words nearby hallucination

halls of ivy, hallstatt, hallstattan, hallucal, hallucinate, hallucination, hallucinatory, hallucinogen, hallucinogenic, hallucinosis, hallux

British Dictionary definitions for hallucinative

hallucination
/ (həˌluːsɪˈneɪʃən) /

noun

the alleged perception of an object when no object is present, occurring under hypnosis, in some mental disorders, etc

Derived forms of hallucination

hallucinational, hallucinative or hallucinatory, adjective

Medical definitions for hallucinative

hallucination
[ hə-lōō′sə-nā′shən ]

n.

False or distorted perception of objects or events with a compelling sense of their reality, usually resulting from a mental disorder or drug.
The objects or events so perceived.

Other words from hallucination

hal•lu′ci•nate′ v.

Cultural definitions for hallucinative

hallucination

A false perception that appears to be real, as when, for example, a man dying of thirst in a desert thinks that he sees a lake. (See also delusion.)