apparent suggests appearance to unaided senses that may or may not be borne out by more rigorous examination or greater knowledge.
the apparent cause of the accident
illusory implies a false impression based on deceptive resemblance or faulty observation, or influenced by emotions that prevent a clear view.
an illusory sense of security
seeming implies a character in the thing observed that gives it the appearance, sometimes through intent, of something else.
the seeming simplicity of the story
ostensible suggests a discrepancy between an openly declared or naturally implied aim or reason and the true one.
the ostensible reason for their visit
Examples of illusory in a Sentence
an illusory sense of security
Recent Examples on the WebBy rushing to close our budget with an illusory Band-Aid of $63 million yet to come, the mayor and City Council prioritized temporary relief and a false sense of security over doing the difficult work of making real cuts to balance our budget in support of our future.—Janani Ramachandran, The Mercury News, 25 July 2024 Now that imagination has become attuned to class, and to some illusory sense of danger.—Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024 The paintings’ beguiling depths are simultaneously illusory and actual.—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 19 July 2024 To illustrate, although Flores’ employment contract to serve as Patriots linebackers coach referred to an arbitration clause in the league’s constitution, Caproni held that under Massachusetts case law, this arbitration clause was illusory and unenforceable.—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for illusory
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illusory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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