Hallucinatory

Hallucinatory describes something that causes hallucinations or resembles the experiences associated with them. It signifies the presence of unreal perceptions, sensory distortions, or imagined experiences that are not based on external reality. This can manifest as visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory sensations that are not objectively present. The term often implies a departure from a normal state of consciousness, brought on by factors like mental illness, substance use, or specific environmental conditions. Something described as hallucinatory can also refer to creative works such as art, literature, or film that evoke a sense of unreality or surrealism, mimicking the qualities of a hallucination to create a distinct artistic effect. The impact of something hallucinatory is often to disorient, fascinate, or disturb the observer or participant.

Hallucinatory meaning with examples

• The fever produced a wildly hallucinatory state, where the patient claimed to see shadowy figures dancing in the corners of the room and hear voices whispering his name. Doctors worked hard to lower the temperature and counteract the effects, hoping to bring him back to reality and prevent further mental distress. His family hoped the medicine would work.
• The artist's work was distinctly hallucinatory, featuring vibrant, distorted landscapes and bizarre, dreamlike creatures. The unusual colors and the juxtapositions of impossible forms captivated viewers, making them question the boundaries between reality and imagination and how that can be portrayed on a canvas. The exhibition became widely critically acclaimed, even if the subject matter was strange.
• After taking the potent psychedelic, the traveler described the forest as having a deeply hallucinatory atmosphere, with trees that seemed to breathe and flowers that pulsed with inner light. The experience was both terrifying and exhilarating, as he wrestled with the reality and his shifting perceptions of the forest around him, seeing what did not exist. The drugs he took gave a very visual experience.
• The protagonist's descent into madness in the novel was portrayed through intensely hallucinatory passages, where the reader shared her distorted perceptions of the world. Vivid imagery and unreliable narration blurred the line between the character’s subjective experience and objective reality, deepening the mystery of her circumstances. The author aimed to make the reader experience the mental breakdown alongside the main character.