optical illusionnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌɒp.tɪ.kəl ɪˈluː.ʒən/us/ˌɑːp.tɪ.kəl ɪˈluː.ʒən/something that tricks your eyes and makes you think you see something that is not really there, or see it differently from how it really is
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Dreaming
- be hearing/imagining/seeing things idiom
- be miles away idiom
- daydream
- daydreaming
- daze
- dream
- dreamless
- fantasist
- fantasize
- hallucinate
- hallucination
- imagination
- in a dream idiom
- nightmare
- out of 2
- out of it idiom
- reverie
- thing
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Examples from literature
- For example, some scientists believe that a zebra’s stripes are not for camouflage but to make an optical illusion.