Hallucination

Pronunciation

• IPA: /həˌluːsɪˈneɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

Derives from verb to hallucinate, from Latin hallucinatus. Compare French hallucination. The first known usage in the English language is from Thomas Browne.

Full definition of hallucination

Noun

1. A sensory perception of something that does not exist, often arising from disorder of the nervous system, as in delirium tremens; a delusion.
• Hallucinations are always evidence of cerebral derangement and are common phenomena of insanity. - W. A. Hammond
2. The act of hallucinating; a wandering of the mind; an error, mistake or blunder.
• This must have been the hallucination of the transcriber. - Joseph Addison