摘要：“Delusion”源自拉丁语“delusio”，意为“欺骗”或“戏弄”，是动词“deludere”的派生词。“Deludere”由前缀“de-”（离开、偏离）和“ludere”（玩耍、欺骗）组成，与“illusion”（幻觉）、“ludicrous”（荒谬）

delusion

英 [dɪ'luːʒn] 美 [dɪ'luːʒn]

n.错觉；幻觉；妄想；欺骗

“Delusion”源自拉丁语“delusio”，意为“欺骗”或“戏弄”，是动词“deludere”的派生词。“Deludere”由前缀“de-”（离开、偏离）和“ludere”（玩耍、欺骗）组成，与“illusion”（幻觉）、“ludicrous”（荒谬）同根，暗示一种被误导或戏弄的状态。这个词在14世纪进入英语，最初指被欺骗或误导的信念，后在医学和心理学中专指病态的妄想，如精神分裂症中的症状。其语感沉重而内省，带有一种迷失真相的悲剧感。

◉外刊例句

① 《The New Yorker》 (2023年10月12日)

His belief in quick riches was a delusion that cost him dearly.

他对快速致富的信念是一种代价高昂的错觉。

② 《The Guardian》 (2024年6月18日)

The report warns against the delusion that technology alone can solve climate change.

报告警告不要抱有仅靠技术就能解决气候变化的妄想。

◉经典名著

① 《了不起的盖茨比》（The Great Gatsby）——F·斯科特·菲茨杰拉德 (1925年)

Gatsby clung to the delusion that he could recapture the past.

盖茨比固执于一种错觉，以为自己能重拾过去。

② 《唐吉诃德》（Don Quixote）——米格尔·德·塞万提斯 (1605年)

His delusion of being a knight led him to countless misadventures.

他幻想自己是骑士的错觉让他陷入了无数的灾难。

◉Usage Examples

(1) Tom was under the delusion that he was a VIP.

(2) Your hope of promotion is a mere delusion.

(3) He had the delusion that he was a king.

(4) His arguments sound convincing but they're based on delusion.

(1) 汤姆怀有错觉,认为自己是个要人。

(2) 你提升的希望只不过是一种幻觉。

(3) 他怀有自己是国王的妄想。

(4) 他的论据听起来似乎有理，但根本上是欺骗性的。

◉Usage Notes

A delusion is a belief that has no evidence in fact — a complete illusion. The cook at the hot dog stand who thinks he is the best chef in the world? That opinion is definitely a delusion.

The noun delusion is often used in the phrase delusions of grandeur, which expresses the belief that unattainable goals are well within reach, like a terrible actress's delusions of grandeur that she won't just land her first role in a movie, it also will make her an Academy Award winner. Delusions like that can be amusing for onlookers, but other kinds of delusions are not, like those suffered by the mentally ill. Their delusions can remove them from reality, making it hard to function.

1. [N-COUNT 可数名词]错觉；谬见；误会 A delusion is a false idea. [usu with supp]

I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.

我误认为他要娶我。

2. [N-UNCOUNT 不可数名词]妄想；幻想 Delusion is the state of believing things that are not true.

This was not optimism, it was delusion.

这不是乐观，这是妄想

3. [PHRASE 短语]妄自尊大；自以为是 If someone has delusions of grandeur, they think and behave as if they are much more important or powerful than they really are. [disapproval]

He suggested that we suffer delusions of grandeur as a football nation.

他暗示我们妄自尊大地以为自己是个足球民族。

...mansions built by men with delusions of grandeur.

自以为是的人建造的豪宅

来源：学无用的英语