allusion

noun

al·lu·sion ə-ˈlü-zhən

Synonyms of allusion next

: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature

a poem that makes allusions to classical literature

also : the use of such references

: the act of making an indirect reference to something : the act of alluding to something

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What is the word origin of allusion?

Allusion was borrowed into English in the 16th century. It derives from the Latin verb alludere, meaning "to play with," "to jest," or "to refer to," as does its cousin allude, meaning "to make indirect reference" or "to refer." Alludere, in turn, derives from a combination of the prefix ad- ("to or toward") and ludere ("to play"). Ludere is a Latin word that English speakers have enjoyed playing with over the years, creating collude, delude, elude, and prelude, just to name a few.

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Allusion and Illusion

Allusion and illusion may share some portion of their ancestry (both words come in part from the Latin word ludere, meaning “to play”), and sound quite similar, but they are distinct words with very different meanings. An allusion is an indirect reference, whereas an illusion is something that is unreal or incorrect. Each of the nouns has a related verb form: allude “to refer indirectly to,” and illude (not a very common word), which may mean “to delude or deceive” or “to subject to an illusion.”

Example Sentences

There are lots of literary echoes and allusions in the novel, but they don't do anything for the tired texture of the prose. —

Tony Tanner, New York Times Book Review, 6 Apr. 1997

So while the former engineering professor with an IQ reportedly tipping 180 enjoys bombarding his staff with math wizardry, scientific jargon and computerese, he also drops frequent allusions to his baseball card and stamp collections … —

Maureen Dowd, New York Times Magazine, 16 Sept. 1990

To my ear this is a beautiful reenactment of the prose of the antebellum South, with its careful grammar, its stately cadences, and its classical allusions and quotations. —

Cleanth Brooks, The Language of the American South, 1985

The lyrics contain biblical allusions. She made allusion to her first marriage.

Recent Examples on the Web The allusions to crucifixion, martyrdom, entrapment, escape, time and eternity are fully intentional. —

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023 Scottish politicians did not make allusions to potential political violence against their opponents. —

Matt Ford, The New Republic, 13 June 2023 Meanwhile, all of the markers displayed on earlier records — the detours into absurd details, the sense of humor, the flighty shift from mundane details to theological allusions — were cast out for unrelenting, clumsy, declarative internal monologue. —

James Robins, Vulture, 1 May 2023 Only the unicorn seems to possess psychological depth, and the prose is truly clotted with allusion. —

Colton Valentine, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2023 An actual white knight — the same Knight who has propped up so many of our institutions — has ridden in with a $2 billion offer to buy the franchise, only to be rebuffed by Jody Allen and a vague allusion that it could be sold in the next 10 to 20 years as her brother’s estate is slowly dissolved. —

oregonlive, 11 July 2022 The show is filled with smart one-liners, perfectly twisted situations, sly physical comedy, clever real-world allusions, and amusing celebrity cameos. —

Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 9 May 2023 Also, there are no direct allusions to what happened in Sacramento in the lyrics, with 40 instead rapping about his favorite teams, showing up on the Jumbotron, and comparing himself to other famous courtside denizens Spike Lee (New York Knicks) and Jack Nicholson (Los Angeles Lakers). —

Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2023 But one of the best allusions is to the music from the Mario Kart 8 menu, which plays while Mario and the gang are selecting their karts. —

Brendan Morrow, The Week, 7 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'allusion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.