Hypertext Webster Gateway: "illusion"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Illusion \Il*lu"sion\, n. [F. illusion, L. illusio, fr.
illudere, illusum, to illude. See {Illude}.]
1. An unreal image presented to the bodily or mental vision;
a deceptive appearance; a false show; mockery;
hallucination.

To cheat the eye with blear illusions. --Milton.

2. Hence: Anything agreeably fascinating and charning;
enchantment; witchery; glamour.

Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise! --Pope.

3. (Physiol.) A sensation originated by some external object,
but so modified as in any way to lead to an erroneous
perception; as when the rolling of a wagon is mistaken for
thunder.

Note: Some modern writers distinguish between an illusion and
hallucination, regarding the former as originating with
some external object, and the latter as having no
objective occasion whatever.

4. A plain, delicate lace, usually of silk, used for veils,
scarfs, dresses, etc.

Syn: Delusion; mockery; deception; chimera; fallacy. See
{Delusion}. {Illusion}, {Delusion}. Illusion refers
particularly to errors of the sense; delusion to false
hopes or deceptions of the mind. An optical deception is
an illusion; a false opinion is a delusion. --E.
Edwards.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

illusion
n 1: an erroneous mental representation [syn: {semblance}]
2: something many people believe that is false; "they have the
illusion that I am very wealthy" [syn: {fantasy}, {phantasy},
{fancy}]
3: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas
[syn: {delusion}, {head game}]
4: an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
[syn: {magic trick}, {conjuring trick}, {trick}, {magic},
{legerdemain}, {deception}]


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