Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Produced by, based on, or having the nature of an illusion; deceptive: "Secret activities offer presidents the alluring but often illusory promise that they can achieve foreign policy goals without the bothersome debate and open decision that are staples of democracy” ( Tom Wicker).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Causing illusion; deceiving or tending to deceive by false appearances; fallacious.
- Synonyms Deceptive, delusive. See delusion.
- n. An illusion; a cheat.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Deceiving, or tending of deceive; fallacious; illusive.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. based on or having the nature of an illusion
Examples
“Instead of entering into an intermediate state, the yogi rises from the death state in what we call an illusory body, in place of the intermediate state.”
“Another word in Professor Daly's lexicon is "foreground," which she defines as the illusory reality established over the centuries within a male-dominated, hierarchical culture bent on destroying women, animals and the earth.”
“As I recall, we could hear him smacking his lips in illusory ecstasy, even from the back seat.”
“And the SEC says Dell consistently misrepresented how it has generated consistent growth numbers resulting in illusory stock values that made possible Michael Dell's astronomical stock option gains.”
“Trevelyan masterfully depicts Marlborough's campaigns, but in illusory power it is doubtful that Churchill's historic battle scenes can be surpassed.”
“At the end of the day, there is a short-term illusory benefit from having fewer shares in issue.”
“If we give up some short-term illusory growth as a side effect of curtailing their activities, this is a small price to pay.”
“Senior cabinet ministers ridiculed such efficiency savings as "illusory" - and angered some of the businessmen involved by accusing them of being fooled by "flimsy advice" and a Tory”
“But the benefits of this have proven to be largely 'illusory' - given the £150bn of losses banks are likely to suffer thanks to the current meltdown, the report claims.”
“This is known as the illusory dance of forms and emptiness, or the inseparability of awareness and the shining void.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘illusory’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Impressionism
Words that describe the art of the impressionist era.
seascapes, landscapes, modern, impression, impressionist, contemporary, flicker, sensation, modernity, perceived, perceiving, momentary and 142 more...
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Fairylike
fairylike, enchanted, pixieish, pixyish, impish, mischievous, fluttery, magical, bewitching, enchanting, fey, otherworldly and 126 more...
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Interesting
iridescent, luminescent, gossamer, blithe, illusory, halo, cygnet, covet, bloody, iris, pruinose, limerence and 15 more...
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This Boy's Life list 2
treacly, sepulchral, unutterable, malicious, vigilance, Aryan, lackey, plausible, emaciated, cavernous, perspicacity, scabrous and 13 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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miscellany
extrapolate, effluvium, maelstrom, ecclesiastic, potentiate, prestidigitation, verisimilitude, innocuous, octogenarian, interlocutor, proselytize, ubiquitous and 138 more...
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jaradgiese's Words
paronomasia, ostensible, insouciant, sobriquet, burlesque, insalubrious, apotheosis, hyperbole, connubial, felicity, florid, conurbation and 642 more...
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words unknown
repeat!!!
laissez faire, propensity, punitive, explicit, whim, extenuating, distort, gross, grossly, hearsay, dispel, apprehensive and 113 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL I
iconoclast, idiosyncrasy, ignoble, ignominious, illicit, illusory, illustrious, imbibe, imbue, immaculate, immaterial, immolate and 155 more...
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Beknownst1981's list
I love words, especially the ones I make up with my friends.
translucent meat ..., beknownst (knew), plethora, curmudgeon, wanderlust, actually, differentiate, bearded, hobbit feet, female, sexy time, librarian and 220 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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Misc. Words.
Words I like to use, words I like but may forget.
corrosion, astonish, solace, ferment, continuum, kinesthetic, permeate, repose, caprice, cardinal, discourse, surrender and 610 more...
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Words. Just words.
Our chief weapons are words, that's all. Just words. Only words, not justly words, that is.
That is to say that there are only words in this list, not words that are just, although s...profligacy, monty, the arc of history, luddite, peremptory, brusque, languid, callipygian, perniciously, insidiousness, camelot, perforce and 189 more...
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just words.
coquette, solecism, peripherally, recrudescence, viscid, turpitude, sententious, light-heeled, interminably, unflappable, palpably, solicitous and 215 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for illusory.

reesetee They might also be merely players. ;-) Nov 29, 2007
singlepayernow all the world is a stage and the people within it, nothing but actors
-hamlet Nov 29, 2007