delusions
Mistaken fixed convictions
Delusions are false beliefs held despite clear evidence against them.
In psychiatry, delusions are symptoms of psychotic disorders—a person with delusions of grandeur believes they have extraordinary powers or importance; delusions of persecution convince someone they're being targeted.
More loosely, delusion describes any self-deception: He's under the delusion that she still loves him.
To be under no delusions is to see things clearly.
Perceptions without external cause
- schizophreniaPsychotic disorder with delusions
- psychosisSevere reality detachment
- deliriumAcute mental disorientation
- maniaIntense, consuming obsession
bipolar · schizoaffective · antipsychotic · erotomania · word salad · loosening · catatonia · prodromal
Obsession with one's importance
- grandiosityExaggerated sense of importance
- narcissismExcessive admiration of oneself
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- self-importanceExaggerated sense of significance
omnipotence · superiority · egotism · inflated · pomposity · pretension · vainglory · arrogance
Deliberately untrue statement
- lieDeliberate falsehood
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
hoax · misinformation · untruth · fallacy · distortion · misbelief · fantasy · self-deception
Systematic mistreatment of groups
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
- watchedSaw with attention
followed · targeted · distrust · threat · wiretap · bugging · eavesdropping · spy
Firmly held belief
- dogmaUnchallengeable official beliefs
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- credulityUncritical acceptance of claims
gullibility · fanaticism · zealotry · obsession · fixation · irrational · unfounded · baseless
hallucinations
Perceptions without external cause
- schizophreniaPsychotic disorder with delusions
- psychosisSevere reality detachment
- deliriumAcute mental disorientation
mania · bipolar · schizoaffective · antipsychotic · erotomania · word salad · loosening · catatonia · prodromal
megalomania
Obsession with one's importance
- grandiosityExaggerated sense of importance
- narcissismExcessive admiration of oneself
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
self-importance · omnipotence · superiority · egotism · inflated · pomposity · pretension · vainglory · arrogance · chosen one
fabrication
Deliberately untrue statement
- lieDeliberate falsehood
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
myth · hoax · misinformation · untruth · fallacy · distortion · misbelief · fantasy · self-deception · wishful thinking
persecution
Systematic mistreatment of groups
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
watched · followed · targeted · distrust · threat · wiretap · bugging · eavesdropping · spy · infiltration
conviction
Firmly held belief
- dogmaUnchallengeable official beliefs
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
credulity · gullibility · fanaticism · zealotry · obsession · fixation · irrational · unfounded · baseless · unshakeable
- psychosishallucinations, psychosis, schizophrenia, hallucination, auditory hallucinations
- False Realitiesillusions, simulations, virtual reality, hallucinations, fantasies
- Psychiatrydiagnosis, symptoms, treatment, medication, psychiatrist
- madnessmadness, lunacy, insanity, mania, schizophrenia
- mental illnessschizophrenia, mental illness, psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression
- Psychiatric Symptomshallucinations, paranoia, psychosis, flat affect, catatonia
delusionsreality
What actually exists
facts · truth · objective reality · realities · truths
delusionsknowledge
Understood facts and skills
understanding · insight · awareness · sound judgment · reason
delusionslucidity
Clearness of mind
clarity · sanity · clear-headedness · mental clarity · sound mind
- delusions of grandeurFalse belief in superiority
- delusional disorderPsychiatric condition featuring persistent false beliefs
- mass delusionWidespread false belief shared socially
- shared delusionBelief transmitted between minds
- collective delusionWidespread acceptance of falsehood
- grandiose delusionsUnfounded beliefs of superiority