hallucination

/həˈlusnˌeɪʃən/

/həlusɪˈneɪʃən/

Other forms: hallucinations

If you see your teacher morph into a dancing elephant, chances are you’re having a hallucination, or an illusory perception. In other words, it sounds like you are seeing things!

A person experiencing a hallucination perceives things that aren’t really there. A hallucination can involve any of the senses — including sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste — and often results from a mental disorder or a chemical source, such as a drug.

Definitions of hallucination

1. noun

   illusory perception; a common symptom of severe mental disorder
   types:

   acousma, auditory hallucination

   illusory auditory perception of strange nonverbal sounds

   pseudohallucination

   an image vivid enough to be a hallucination but recognized as unreal

   visual hallucination

   illusory visual perception

   chromatism

   hallucinatory perception of colored lights

   pink elephants

   any visual hallucination arising from heavy drinking

   zoopsia

   visual hallucination of animals; sometimes occurring in delirium tremens

   type of:

   delusion, psychotic belief

   (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary
2. noun

   an object perceived during a hallucinatory episode
   “he refused to believe that the angel was a hallucination”

   type of:

   object

   the focus of cognitions or feelings
3. noun

   a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
   “his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination”

   synonyms: delusion

   types:

   disorientation, freak out

   a wild delusion (especially one induced by a hallucinogenic drug)

   type of:

   misconception

   an incorrect conception
4. noun

   (computing) a response generated by artificial intelligence that contains false or misleading information presented as fact