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