illusory
il·lu·so·ry/ɪˈlu.sə.ɹi/adjective
illusory is spelled I-L-L-U-S-O-R-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables (il·lu·so·ry). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, illusory means “Resulting from an illusion; deceptive, imaginary, unreal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in illusory?
| Letters | 8: I-L-L-U-S-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: il·lu·so·ry |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is illusory?
Illusory appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce illusory?
- UK /ɪˈluː.sə.ɹiː/
- UK /-zə.ɹiː/
- US /ɪˈlu.sə.ɹi/
Illusory has 4 syllables, split il·lu·so·ry in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-illusory2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-illusory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of illusory
- more illusory comparative
- most illusory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does illusory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Resulting from an illusion; deceptive, imaginary, unreal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Illusory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense resulting from an illusion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | illusoire |
| German | illusorisch, illusionär, wirklichkeitsfremd |
| Portuguese | ilusório |
| Spanish | ilusorio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does illusory come from?
Borrowed from Middle French illusorie (modern French illusoire), derived from Latin illūsōrius (“mocking, ironical”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).