optical illusion
noun
plural optical illusions
Definition of optical illusion
: a misleading image presented to the vision
Zebras look like optical illusions to me. Which are they—black with white stripes or white with black stripes?— Al Robinson The sun, moon, and planets circle above the terrestrial plane in the region of the equator. Their apparent rising and setting is an optical illusion caused by atmospheric refraction … — Ranger Rick
Examples of optical illusion in a Sentence
The closer building looks larger than the farther one, but it's just an optical illusion. The two buildings are actually the same size.
Recent Examples on the Web
Since then, it's blown up -- all because Quintana played on a famous optical illusion wherein a rabbit looks like a bird, and a bird looks like a rabbit. — Leah Asmelash And Brian Ries, CNN, "Is it a bird or a bunny? This optical illusion of an animal is confusing the internet," 21 Aug. 2019 Many of those grainy photos and videos turned out to be hoaxes or optical illusions. — Eric Weiner, Washington Post, "A hopeful skeptic joins the search for the sasquatch," 9 Aug. 2019 The wolf sighting in northern Colorado was no optical illusion. — Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, "Gray wolf sighting confirmed in northern Colorado," 10 July 2019 To better understand this optical illusion, TIME turned to neurobiologist Bevil Conway. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "Here's Why That Close-Up Photo Had Everyone Seeing an Impressionistic Landscape," 11 July 2019 Today, however, Ms. Maurer is best known for her stunning optical illusions. — Emily Ferguson, WSJ, "Motion and Illusion," 11 July 2019 Take his camp-themed look for the 2019 Met Gala, a truly avant-garde optical illusion involving a few extra pairs of eyes and a Michael Meyers mask. — Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "Ezra Miller Wants to Help You Find the Magic of Makeup," 9 July 2019 Don’t dwell on how this trade looks; in a vacuum, a laundry list of draft picks can work as an optical illusion. — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, "Trade Grades: An Extension of the AD Deal, Pelicans-Hawks Swap Shapes Two Futures," 21 June 2019 Here’s another optical illusion, which is two recipes in one. — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, "Got a fork and a freezer? Here are 6 recipes for granita, summer’s simplest refresher.," 8 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'optical illusion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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