as in saw
to see or sense something or someone that is not really there; to have hallucinations
The patient may hallucinate if she has a fever.
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Recent Examples of hallucinated
Last year, a Los Angeles attorney was fined for submitting a filing full of legal citations that were hallucinated by ChatGPT.
—
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The report was riddled with fake citations that appeared to be hallucinated by AI, which the White House attributed to formatting errors; HHS then corrected the report by removing the false citations and swapping in new references.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sonatype’s research found that GPT-5 hallucinated nearly 28% of component versions and, without real-time intelligence, even recommended malware.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The weather was accurate but the towns were hallucinated by the computer program.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2026
And that’s assuming ChatGPT hasn’t hallucinated anything.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2025
Regardless, the guides require reading comprehension skills and don’t offer random, hallucinated, or uncited thoughts about the text.
—Joelle Renstrom
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Zane Wach, 14, hallucinated and walked off a cliff while climbing Mount Whitney in Northern California on June 10.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For example, the o3 and o4 reasoning models that came out in April hallucinated more than their predecessors, TechCrunch reports.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The report was riddled with fake citations that appeared to be hallucinated by AI, which the White House attributed to formatting errors; HHS then corrected the report by removing the false citations and swapping in new references.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sonatype’s research found that GPT-5 hallucinated nearly 28% of component versions and, without real-time intelligence, even recommended malware.
—Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The weather was accurate but the towns were hallucinated by the computer program.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2026
And that’s assuming ChatGPT hasn’t hallucinated anything.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2025
Regardless, the guides require reading comprehension skills and don’t offer random, hallucinated, or uncited thoughts about the text.
—Joelle Renstrom
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Zane Wach, 14, hallucinated and walked off a cliff while climbing Mount Whitney in Northern California on June 10.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
For example, the o3 and o4 reasoning models that came out in April hallucinated more than their predecessors, TechCrunch reports.
—Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hallucinated
Verb
-
Moving a blade back and forth to try to saw biscuits apart will make their layers stick (and ruin the rise).—
Ella Quittner,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
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Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Dan Fiorito imagined the Yankees’ home opener days in advance.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
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From forming a community cheer squad to picking up painting, life at The Vi opens up experiences many residents never even imagined.—
Vi at Aventura,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
England, who spent years working in hospitality, as well as in retail management, has dreamed of opening her own place for years and spent two years preparing Kaos by obtaining permits, a liquor license, preparing the kitchen and thoughtfully decorating.—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2026
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While there has always been a thriving industry of paranoid books and films, modern conspiracism has avenues of distribution and incentive that Cold War cranks and 19th-century pamphleteers could have only dreamed of.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
By contrast, the SAVE America Act, as contemplated by the president, would ban most forms of mail voting and require photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Mar. 2026
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Barry said that the landowners contemplated building a combination gas station/convenience store, but the property wasn’t quite large enough.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For years the sisters had fantasized, half-seriously, about having their own YouTube channel.—
Scot Paltrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The new sound became a global fad, even in the locales that exotica artists fantasized about.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Someone who has pondered such niceties is Richard Posner, a former circuit judge and a prolific legal scholar.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Lisa Nelson, executive director of the Hamline-Midway Coalition, said her board members pondered that question at length.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Every vessel was visualized clearly.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The story follows struggling creatives navigating debt, eviction threats and a precarious gig economy, visualized in Riley’s inventive style — from looming piles of eviction notices to characters literally struggling up and down steep inclines that mirror the instability of their lives.—
Deborah Sengupta Stith,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hallucinated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hallucinated. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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