illusion
/ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/
"illusion" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“illusion” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,803 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,803
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Anything that seems to be something that it is not.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | illusion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #7,803 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “illusion” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for illusion is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,803 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for illusion, with forms such as "illsuion", "illuison", and "illusino". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "infusion", "inclusion", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French illusion, from Latin illūsiō, from illūdere, from in- (“at, upon”) + lūdere (“to play, mock, trick”). Displaced native Old English dwimmer. The correct English form is illusion, spelled I-L-L-U-S-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Anything that seems to be something that it is not.
- 2A misapprehension; a belief in something that is in fact not true.
- 3A magician’s trick.
- 4The state of being deceived or misled.
Etymology
From Old French illusion, from Latin illūsiō, from illūdere, from in- (“at, upon”) + lūdere (“to play, mock, trick”). Displaced native Old English dwimmer.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: illsuion,illuison,illusino,illusionn,illusoin,illussion,illution,ilulsion,ilusion,lilusion
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of illusion - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “illusion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-L-L-U-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “infusion” - see the side-by-side comparison. illusion vs infusion
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.