hallucinatory

adjective

Definition of hallucinatorynext
as in surreal

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hallucinatory For Prosper Insights & Analytics Both executives and employees listed the top two concerns being the need for human oversight and inaccurate or hallucinatory outputs. — Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Paramount+ delivered the main full trailer for season 4 on June 15, 2026, and it’s packed with dinosaurs, cowboys, horses, space storms, dreams, nightmares, fire-breathing dragons, haunted spaceships, and hallucinatory pleasure planets. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 23 July 2026 Such hallucinatory citations are, according to judges and lawyers, troubling at a variety of levels, including for their threat to the integrity of the judicial system. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 26 June 2026 What results is a hallucinatory exploration of power, control, desire, and — that hottest of fascinated feelings right now — obsession. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hallucinatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hallucinatory
  1. surreal
  2. phantasmagoric
  3. illusory
  4. delusive
  5. imaginary
  6. delusional
  7. fictitious
  8. fictional
Adjective
  • At that point, the film pivots to a more surreal register, presenting bright, clear skies that are slowly, eerily engulfed in darkness.
    — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Yuasa is known for surreal storytelling and a distinct anime visual style for films like Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Ride Your Wave, his directorial debut Mind Game and Lu Over the Wall, an Annecy award winner.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of surreal
Adjective
  • Step into the wardrobe and enter Greta Gerwig’s phantasmagorical emporium of glam-rock excess.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Over the course of one phantasmagoric evening, Robin witnesses events that prefigure the Revolutionary War.
    — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Definition of phantasmagoric
Adjective
  • Yet these promises of a self-running state are illusory, because AI is never truly autonomous.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The algorithms selected patterns that were strikingly similar to those found in nature, so this illusory effect could be a major evolutionary driver.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of illusory
Adjective
  • This isn’t callousness or delusive optimism but, rather, a rebellion against the suffocating expectation that the elderly have foreclosed the possibility of joy.
    — Hillary Kelly, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
  • To separate art from its historical framework is futile, and to reject it in an effort to censor past violence is a delusive act of virtue signaling.
    — WSJ, WSJ, 5 July 2022
Definition of delusive
Adjective
  • What matters most is being comfortably inside the path and away from the hard edges, not standing on an imaginary line drawn through its middle.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Each nutty denunciation of his imaginary tormentors includes a plea for a presidential pardon.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Adjective
  • The manuscript Wayne read to us that night chronicled his involvement with Gloria Swanson, the towering star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who enjoyed latter-day acclaim in 1950 playing a delusional has-been in Sunset Boulevard.
    — Mike Hogan, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
  • O’Donnell’s characters are usually fresh out of divorces and staying afloat on waves of delusional self-confidence and optimism.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of delusional
Adjective
  • The Swiss manufacturer has just unveiled a new lineup of Seamaster Diver 300Ms inspired by James Bond and Spectre, the fictitious crime org seen in the 007 flicks.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The Russian security service’s Meliorator tool has been used to create over a thousand profiles of fictitious Americans, primarily on X (formerly Twitter), to spread Kremlin narratives at a fraction of the cost of human troll farms.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of fictitious
Adjective
  • Set in a small fictional town called Awatahi, the show explores the murder of 17-year-old Jodie Hunter.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
  • People have since replaced the imp with fictional people like Sam and Dean Winchester and Wednesday Addams, public figures like Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and even mascots like Ronald McDonald.
    — Angela Yang, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of fictional

Browse Nearby Words

hallucinations
hallucinatory
hallucinoses
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hallucinatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hallucinatory. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All