Allusion

An indirect reference or mention of something, often to a person, event, or literary work, without explicitly naming it.

noun

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Imagine This

Jack, the magician, not only tricks the eyes of his audience by illusion; he also tricks others’ ears when he is off stage. He refers things indirectly, never telling the straightforward fact, which makes people wonder what he means.

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Sounds Like

uh-LOO-zhən

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Looks Like

Looks similar to 'illusion' in spelling; the ending -usion is shared, but 'allusion' has an 'all-' prefix indicating reference rather than deception.

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Remember This

Allusion is a subtle, indirect reference—remember that 'allude' means to refer indirectly, and 'allusion' is the noun form of that action.

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Other Forms

alludeverb

allusiveadjective

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Connect With

reference, mention, hint, implication, indirectness, alluding

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Note

An allusion is not a direct quotation; it requires the reader to recognize the reference. Be careful not to confuse allusion with illusion, which is a misperception or deceptive appearance.

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Study Deeper

Examples

Her speech was filled with allusions to classic mythology.
The novel makes several allusions to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Synonyms

referencementionhintimplicationindirect reference

Antonyms

explicit referencedirect statementunambiguousness

Etymology

From Latin alludere 'to play with, to refer to indirectly' (ad- 'to' + ludere 'to play'); the noun form is allusion.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: Allusion = allude + -ion. To remember the meaning, recall that to allude is to refer indirectly, and adding -ion makes it a noun.

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