hallucinatory

adjective

hal·​lu·​ci·​na·​to·​ry hə-ˈlü-sə-nə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-ˈlüs-nə-

1

: tending to produce hallucination

hallucinatory drugs

2

: resembling, involving, or being a hallucination

hallucinatory dreams

a hallucinatory figure

Examples of hallucinatory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Exhibition provides a hallucinatory, sobering in-depth remembrance of the brutal massacre at The Nova Music Festival on October 7th, 2023. —Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024

These are intense experiences—vivid, emotionally salient, possibly hallucinatory. —Gary Stix, Scientific American, 3 July 2024

There’s magic in the way Dern delivers this line, as if Sandy — cherubic in an almost hallucinatory way — is happy not to know which label fits her alluring new sweetheart. —Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024

During the section of the novel concerned with her harassment, even the language grows hallucinatory, saturated in horror tropes, underscoring that May, who loves her children and loses sleep over their safety and happiness, has become unrecognizable to herself: a monstrous mother. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hallucinatory

adjective

hal·​lu·​ci·​na·​to·​ry hə-ˈlü-sə-nə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

1

: tending to produce hallucinations

2

: resembling, involving, or being a hallucination

Medical Definition

hallucinatory

adjective

hal·​lu·​ci·​na·​to·​ry hə-ˈlüs-ᵊn-ə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˈlüs-nə-, -ˌtȯr- 

1

: tending to produce hallucinations

hallucinatory drugs

2

: resembling, involving, or being a hallucination

hallucinatory dreams

a hallucinatory figure

hallucinatorily

-ˌtōr-ə-lē, -ˌtȯr- 

adverb