Hallucination
What does Hallucination mean?
Hallucination is an AI-generated statement, citation, image detail, or answer that sounds plausible but is false, unsupported, or invented.
Hallucination used in a sentence
“The chatbot hallucinated a court case that did not exist.”
This example shows the term in context rather than treating the definition as a literal word-for-word substitution. Slang often depends on tone, audience, and the conversation around it.
How do you use Hallucination?
Use the term for confident model errors, not for ordinary uncertainty or a person having a medical hallucination.
Where did Hallucination come from?
AI researchers adopted the word by analogy to perception without a real external basis, though some experts criticize the metaphor.
Common variations of Hallucination
AI hallucination
The full phrase for a fabricated model output.
model fabrication
A more literal alternative.
Hallucination: frequently asked questions
Why do AI models hallucinate?
They generate likely patterns rather than directly verifying every claim against reality.
Can hallucinations be eliminated?
They can be reduced with retrieval, constraints, and verification, but not universally eliminated.