il·lu·sion ( -l  zh n)n. 1. a. An erroneous perception of reality. b. An erroneous concept or belief. 2. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief. 3. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception. 4. Illusionism in art. 5. A fine transparent cloth, used for dresses or trimmings. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin ill  si , illsin-, from Latin, a mocking, irony, from illsus, past participle of illdere, to mock : in-, against; see in-2 + ldere, to play; see leid- in Indo-European roots.]il·lu sion·al, il·lusion·ar y (-zh-n r ) adj.il·lu sion·less adj. |   top: In a Hering figure, straight horizontal rules appear curved. bottom: In Gestalt theory boxes, a gray box against a black background appears lighter than the same gray box against a white background. |
illusion [ɪˈluːʒən]
Illusion of painters: group of painters, 15th century.
Illusion
Barmecide feast An illusion of plenty; any illusion. In The Arabian Nights, Barmecide, a wealthy Persian noble, invited the beggar Schacabac to dine with him at a banquet table laden with dishes, all empty of food. The host feigned indulgence in the illusionary banquet, and when the beggar followed suit with gusto, Barmecide repented of his joke and served the pauper a sumptuous repast. This latter aspect of the story does not figure into the meaning of the phrase; Barmecide feast retains only that aspect of the story dealing with the nonexistent fare.
cast beyond the moon To indulge in fanciful, outlandish thoughts about the future; to imagine the impossible. One definition of cast is “to calculate or conjecture, to anticipate, to forecast” (OED). The moon was considered a mysterious force of inexplicable power. Beyond the moon reinforces the idea of a realm where nothing is impossible. The phrase appeared as early as the mid-16th century.
But oh, I talk of things impossible, and cast beyond the moon. (Thomas Hey wood, A Woman Killed with Kindness, 1607)
castles in Spain Fanciful notion; pipe dream—the opposite of all that is practical, reasonable, and grounded in common sense. The phrase appeared in English in The Romance of the Rose (approx. 1400).
Thou shalt make castles then in Spain,
And dream of joy, all but in vain.
Château en Espagne, the French equivalent, dates from the 13th century. The OED attributes the reference to Spain to the fact that it represents a “foreign country where one had no standing-ground.” Spain was superseded by the now current air or sky.
castles in the air Visionary projects; daydreams or fantasies; impractical, romantic, or whimsical schemes; half-baked ideas without solid foundation. This phrase, common since 1575, is equivalent to castles in the sky.
Things are thought, which never yet were wrought,
And castles built above in lofty skies.
(George Gascoigne, The Steele Glas, 1575)
Fata Morgana See ENTICEMENT.
fool’s paradise A self-deceptive state of contentment or bliss; a mental condition in which one’s happiness is generated by delusions and false hopes. The expression is derived from the Latin limbus fatuorum, a quasi-limbo where the mentally feeble went after death. The phrase has evolved to mean the fantasy world inhabited by certain daft individuals.
You have been revelling in a fool’s paradise of leisure. (James Beres-ford, The Miseries of Human Life, 1807)
pie in the sky An illusion of future benefits and blessings which will never be realized; an unattainable state of happiness or utopia. This expression, probably alluding to the concept of pie as something sweet and desirable, and sky as in the air, beyond one’s reach, was popularized in a World War I song often attributed to Joe Hill (1927):
You will eat, bye and bye,
In the glorious land above the sky!
Work and pray,
Live on hay,
You’ll get pie in the sky when you die!
pipe dream An unrealistic and often fantastic plan, goal, or idea. One source suggests that this expression alludes to the dreams and schemes which may inspire an opium addict after he has smoked a pipeful of the drug.
tilt at windmills To combat imaginary evils, to fight opponents or injustices that are merely the figments of an over-active imagination. The allusion is to Cervantes’ Don Quixote de la Mancha, in which the hero Don Quixote imagines the windmills he has come upon to be giants and proceeds to do battle, with the result that both the knight and his horse are injured and his lance destroyed. At this Quixote’s squire Sancho Panza says that anyone who mistakes windmills for giants must have windmills in his head, i.e., suffer delusions, be crazy. The equivalent French phrase is se battre contre les moulins à vent. A variant of the expression appeared in Frederic W. Farrar’s book on Christ:
Dr. Edersheim is again—so far as I am concerned—fighting a windmill.
| Noun | 1. |  illusion - an erroneous mental representation fantasm, phantasm, phantasma, phantom, shadow, apparition - something existing in perception only; "a ghostly apparition at midnight" appearance - a mental representation; "I tried to describe his appearance to the police" irradiation - the apparent enlargement of a bright object when viewed against a dark background phantom limb - the illusion that a limb still exists after it has been amputated |
| 2. |  illusion - something many people believe that is false; "they have the illusion that I am very wealthy"misconception - an incorrect conception bubble - an impracticable and illusory idea; "he didn't want to burst the newcomer's bubble" ignis fatuus, will-o'-the-wisp - an illusion that misleads wishful thinking - the illusion that what you wish for is actually true | |
| 3. | illusion - the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas | |
| 4. |  illusion - an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observersperformance - the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment; "we congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal"; "an inspired performance of Mozart's C minor concerto" card trick - a trick performed with playing cards prestidigitation, sleight of hand - manual dexterity in the execution of tricks |
illusion
false impression fact, truth, reality, actuality
optical illusion → ilusión f óptica
it gives an illusion of space → crea una ilusión or impresión de espacio
to be under an illusion → hacerse falsas ilusiones, estar en un error
I am under no illusions on that score → sobre ese punto no me hago(falsas)ilusiones
to be under the illusion that → creerse que ...
he was under the illusion that he would win → se creía que iba a ganar
he cherishes the illusion that → abriga la esperanza de que ... + subjun
to be under the illusion that ... → nourrir l'illusion que ...
to have no illusions about sth → ne se faire aucune illusion sur qch
Nobody has any illusions about winning the war → Personne ne se fait aucune illusion sur l'issue favorable de la guerre.
to give the illusion of sth (= impression) → donner l'illusion de qch
to be under an illusion → illudersi
to be under the illusion that → illudersi che
to have no illusions → non farsi illusioni
illusion → وهم iluze illusion Illusion παραίσθηση ilusión illuusio illusion iluzija illusione 錯覚 환각 illusie illusjon iluzja ilusão иллюзия illusion ภาพลวงตา yanılsama ảo tưởng 幻想
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