allusion, delusion, or illusion?
Allusion and illusion are the closest in sound but the furthest apart in meaning: an allusion is an indirect reference to a person, thing, or event: The story contained an allusion to her childhood in Africa. An illusion is something that deceives the senses or mind: The shimmering effect on a hot road is an optical illusion.By shutting himself in his room for hours he kept up an illusion of studying hard.Illusion and delusion are similar in meaning, but delusion denotes something falsely believed, often harmfully, rather than a wrong impression received: Visitors often suffer under the delusion that the weather is always hot here.
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