delusory
Seeming real, isn't
Delusory means tending to delude or having the quality of a delusion—misleading, deceptive, or based on false belief.
The word describes things that create false impressions: delusory hopes, delusory promises.
It overlaps with delusive but appears less frequently.
The delusory calm before the storm gave no hint of what was coming.
Error in reasoning
- misconceptionErroneous belief or understanding
- misapprehensionIncorrect belief or understanding
- misperceptionIncorrect interpretation of reality
- self-deceptionConvincing yourself of falsehoods
credulity · gullibility · superstition · misbelief · unfounded · erroneous · distortion · falsity
Perception without external cause
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- visionAbility to see
figment · chimera · wraith · ghost · phantasmagoria · mirage · reverie · daydream
Misleading sensory impression
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- shamFraudulent imitation
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
artifice · guile · subterfuge · chicanery · sleight · ruse · pretense · feigned
Impractically pursuing lofty goals
- utopianImpractically perfect in conception
- chimericalImaginary and unrealistic
- fancifulImaginatively unrealistic
- fantasticalExtravagantly unreal or imaginary
impractical · unattainable · idealistic · airy-fairy · romantic · visionary · whimsical · improbable
fallacy
Error in reasoning
- misconceptionErroneous belief or understanding
- misapprehensionIncorrect belief or understanding
- misperceptionIncorrect interpretation of reality
self-deception · credulity · gullibility · superstition · misbelief · unfounded · erroneous · distortion · falsity · naivety
hallucination
Perception without external cause
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
vision · figment · chimera · wraith · ghost · phantasmagoria · mirage · reverie · daydream · phantom
illusion
Misleading sensory impression
trickery · artifice · guile · subterfuge · chicanery · sleight · ruse · pretense · feigned · disingenuous
quixotic
Impractically pursuing lofty goals
- utopianImpractically perfect in conception
- chimericalImaginary and unrealistic
- fancifulImaginatively unrealistic
fantastical · impractical · unattainable · idealistic · airy-fairy · romantic · visionary · whimsical · improbable · starry-eyed
delusoryhonest
Free from deception
truthful · forthright · candid · straightforward · frank
delusion, delude, deluded, delusive, deluding, deluder, self-delusion, delusiveness, undeluded