Hallucinate: meaning, definitions and examples

This word is used in a medical or psychological context to describe seeing or experiencing things that are not actually there, often due to illness, drugs, or mental health conditions.

• The patient began to hallucinate after taking the medication.
• People can hallucinate when they are extremely tired or stressed.

This phrase can imply that someone is seeing things that aren't real, but it is a more informal and less clinical way to express hallucination. It can have a neutral or slightly negative connotation.

• He started to see things after staying awake for 48 hours.
• I thought I saw someone in the room, but I must have been seeing things.

This phrase can be used in a religious, mystical, or spiritual context where someone believes they are seeing divine or prophetic images.

• Many saints have said they have visions of heaven.
• She claims to have visions that predict the future.

This word is used when someone is thinking of something that isn't real or is performing a creative process. It is not typically associated with mental illness.

• She likes to imagine what her life will be like in ten years.
• Imagine you're on a sandy beach with the sun shining down.

Used when someone sees or hears things that aren't actually there, often due to mental illness, drugs, or extreme fatigue.

• After taking the medication, he began to hallucinate and saw shapes that didn't exist
• She was so tired, she thought she saw someone standing in the room, but it was just her imagination

Used when someone is made to believe something that is not true, often because they are deceiving themselves or are being deceived by others.

• He deluded himself into thinking he could win the lottery
• The con artist deluded the victims into thinking they were investing in a legitimate business

Used when someone understands something incorrectly or makes a mistake in interpreting information.

• She misinterpreted his silence as anger
• The student misinterpreted the assignment and wrote an essay instead of a report