illusory
Not actually there
Illusory means based on illusion—not real, though it may appear to be.
An illusory sense of security feels genuine but rests on false assumptions.
Illusory gains vanish when examined closely.
The prosperity turned out to be illusory, built on unsustainable debt.
The word suggests deception, whether by others or by one's own mind.
Imaginative mental wandering
- dreamlikeHazy and fantastical
- visionaryImaginative planner of futures
- imaginaryExisting only in thought
- chimericalImaginary and unrealistic
ephemeral · insubstantial · vaporous · intangible · fleeting · evanescent · unreal · gossamer
Visible supernatural manifestation
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- ghostApparition of the dead
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
poltergeist · spectral · ethereal · ghostly · haunt · spook · incorporeal · shadowy
Causing false beliefs
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- speciousSuperficially plausible but flawed
- fallaciousContaining faulty reasoning
- falseNot matching reality
deceptive · sham · bogus · fictitious · feigned · counterfeit · ersatz · artificial
Atmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- opticalOf vision or light
- afterimageLingering visual impression
- refractionWave bending between media
distortion · shimmering · haze · flicker · shimmer · double vision · floaters · phosphene
False notion held true
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- derealizationPerception that surroundings aren't real
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
false memory · cognitive distortion · self-deception · projection · rationalization · denial · maya · samsara
fantasy
Imaginative mental wandering
- dreamlikeHazy and fantastical
- visionaryImaginative planner of futures
- imaginaryExisting only in thought
chimerical · ephemeral · insubstantial · vaporous · intangible · fleeting · evanescent · unreal · gossamer · wispy
apparition
Visible supernatural manifestation
wraith · poltergeist · spectral · ethereal · ghostly · haunt · spook · incorporeal · shadowy · eerie
misleading
Causing false beliefs
- spuriousFalse though appearing genuine
- speciousSuperficially plausible but flawed
- fallaciousContaining faulty reasoning
false · deceptive · sham · bogus · fictitious · feigned · counterfeit · ersatz · artificial · sophistry
mirage
Atmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- opticalOf vision or light
- afterimageLingering visual impression
refraction · distortion · shimmering · haze · flicker · shimmer · double vision · floaters · phosphene · pareidolia
misbelief
False notion held true
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- derealizationPerception that surroundings aren't real
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
wishful thinking · false memory · cognitive distortion · self-deception · projection · rationalization · denial · maya · samsara
- Mysticalethereal, otherworldly, supernatural, numinous, transcendent
- idealisticidealist, idealistic, utopian, quixotic, dreamer
- status effectsdebuffed, poison, hexed, burn, cursed
- nominalnominal, titular, figurehead, in name only, token