allusion
/əˈlu.ʒən/
allusion noun: an indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned.
Noun
allusion (countable and uncountable, plural allusions)
- An indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned.
- I remember, before the Dwarf left the Queen, he followed us one day into thoſe gardens, and my Nurſe having ſet me down, he and I being cloſe together, near ſome Dwarf Apple trees, I muſt need ſhew my Wit, by a ſilly Alluſion between him and the Trees, which happens to hold in their Language as it...1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), pages...
- We draw the conclusion then, that the very reason why the multitude, or the world, as they were designated by the Savior, did not receive an explanation upon his parables, was, because of unbelief. To you, he says, (speaking to his disciples) it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God...1835, Joseph Smith, Jr., Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate
allusion meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
allusion in Urdu
- حوالہ, اشارہ, تلمیح
allusion in Bengali
- ইশারা, পরোক্ষ উল্লেখ, ইঙ্গিত, টীকা
allusion in Malayalam
- പരോക്ഷസൂചന, ഉദാഹരണം, പരാമർശം
allusion in Kannada
- ಸುಳಿವು, ಎತ್ತುಗೆ, ಪೀಠಿಕೆ, ಮುನ್ನುಡಿ, ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ, ಸೂಚನೆ
More languagesFewer languages
- allusion in Sanskrit
- व्यञ्जन vyáñjana, ध्वनि dhvaní
- allusion in Tagalog
- alusyon, patayutay, parunggit
- allusion in Arabic
- تَلْمِيح talmīḥ
- allusion in Indonesian
- alusi, kiasan, kilatan
- allusion in Persian
- تلمیح talmih
Examples of allusion in a sentence
- In order to understand some of the allusions readers must remember that the Autobiography was originally written in the form of "epistles addressed to Mr.1881, John Younger, quoting J. & J.H. Rutherfurd, “Publishers' Note”, in Autobiography of John Younger, Shoemaker, St. Boswells, Kelso...
- The influence of Lucretius on Virgil was pervasive, especially in Virgil's Georgics; and it is in clear allusion to Lucretius that Virgil wrote, “Happy is the man who can read the causes of things.”2014, Kathleen Kuiper [editor], Classical Authors: 500 BCE to 1100 CE:
Forms of allusion
| plural | allusions |
|---|
Origin of allusion
From Latin allūsiōnem, accusative singular of allūsiō (“the act of playing with”), from allūdō (“play with; allude”), from al-, combining form of ad (“to”), + lūdō (“play”): compare French allusion.
Words that rhyme with allusion
Questions about allusion
- What does allusion mean?
- Allusion means an indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned.
- What is allusion in Urdu?
- Allusion in Urdu is حوالہ, اشارہ, تلمیح. See Allusion meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use allusion in a sentence?
- In order to understand some of the allusions readers must remember that the Autobiography was originally written in the form of "epistles addressed to Mr.
- What part of speech is allusion?
- Allusion is a noun.
- How do you pronounce allusion?
- Allusion is pronounced /əˈlu.ʒən/ (US).
- What is the plural of allusion?
- The plural of allusion is allusions.
Words near allusion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: allusion (page history and authors); allusion (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); allusion (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); allusion (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); allusion (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ध्वनि (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-allusion.oga.
Cite this entry: “allusion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/allusion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.