hallucinate

[huh-loo-suh-neyt]

verb (used without object)

hallucinated, hallucinating 

1. to see or hear things that do not exist outside the mind; have hallucinations.

   People who ingested this fungus often hallucinated, seeing colored lights or hearing voices.

2. Computers, Digital Technology.,  (of a machine learning program) to produce false information contrary to the intent of the user and present it as if true and factual.

verb (used with object)

hallucinated, hallucinating 

1. to see or hear (things that do not exist outside the mind); have hallucinations about.

   In dramatic moments, the character hallucinates a very funny animated bear.

2. Archaic.,  to affect with hallucinations.

hallucinate

/ həˈluːsɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to experience hallucinations

Other Word Forms

• hallucinator noun
• nonhallucinated adjective
• unhallucinated adjective
• unhallucinating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hallucinate¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin hallūcinātus “wandered mentally” past participle of hallūcinārī, variant of (h)ālūcinārī “to dream, talk idly, wander mentally”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hallucinate¹

C17: from Latin ālūcinārī to wander in mind; compare Greek aluein to be distraught

Example Sentences

People hallucinate a lot when they’re super sick and they look like a skeleton.

From Los Angeles Times

She’s also on heavy doses of Clonazepam, causing her to lose track of time and occasionally hallucinate, as one does in movies like this.

From Salon

While all types of AI can hallucinate, some misinformation experts said they are more concerned about Grok, a chatbot created by Musk’s AI company xAI.

From Los Angeles Times

He points out that AI is known to hallucinate - to generate content that is irrelevant, made-up, or inconsistent.

From BBC

Amazingly, in some 30 cases involving lawyers the AI-generated errors were discovered or were in documents filed as recently as this year, long after the tendency of AI bots to “hallucinate” became evident.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• daydream 
• fantasize 
• freak out