optical illusion

noun

plural optical illusions

: a misleading image presented to the vision

Zebras look like optical illusions to me. Which are they—black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

—Al Robinson

The sun, moon, and planets circle above the terrestrial plane in the region of the equator. Their apparent rising and setting is an optical illusion caused by atmospheric refraction …

—Ranger Rick

Examples of optical illusion in a Sentence

The closer building looks larger than the farther one, but it's just an optical illusion. The two buildings are actually the same size.

Recent Examples on the Web

Here Kottler references his gay identity with flat silhouettes, shadows and faceted reflections, dissolving physicality in optical illusions. —Patricia Failing, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2024

In September 2022, creative director Matthieu Blazy sent a stream of leather optical illusions down the Fall-Winter runway. —Leah Dolan, CNN, 20 July 2024

The technique creates an optical illusion of jeans being stuck or glued to the wearer. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 19 July 2024

Saturn retrograde is an optical illusion in which the planet appears to be moving backward but is only moving slower in its solar orbit. —Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 28 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

optical illusion

noun

: illusion sense 1

Medical Definition

optical illusion

noun

: visual perception of a real object in such a way as to misinterpret its actual nature