How to Use allusion in a Sentence

allusion

noun
Definition of allusionnext
Synonyms for allusionnext
  • She made allusion to her first marriage.
  • The lyrics contain biblical allusions.
  • The Dune allusions are based on the sheer amount of dust and sweat resting atop her skin.
    — Vulture, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The song starts off strong with an allusion to the king of pop, Michael Jackson.
    — Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 21 May 2021
  • But that's not the only allusion to Miley’s past in the video.
    — Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, 30 Nov. 2018
  • The name, as legend has it, was an allusion to the club cars of Pullman trains.
    — Liza Weisstuch, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2020
  • The title was an allusion to the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge.
    — Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2023
  • As the disease spread across the globe, the battle allusions followed.
    — Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2020
  • Grail’s name is an allusion to this search, which researchers have compared to the quest for the Holy Grail.
    — Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2021
  • The company’s name is an allusion to that search, which many have compared to the quest for the Holy Grail.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2021
  • This was of course an allusion to Hudson’s Nascar success in the 1950s.
    — A.j. Baime, WSJ, 13 Nov. 2018
  • But one of the best allusions is to the music from the Mario Kart 8 menu, which plays while Mario and the gang are selecting their karts.
    — Brendan Morrow, The Week, 7 Apr. 2023
  • And there is an allusion to what’s coming: snowflakes at book’s end.
    — Susan Faust, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Oct. 2017
  • At times, these rolling tales feel like a sly homage to Ovid or Virgil (not least because of the many allusions to Greek gods).
    — Sebastian Smee, chicagotribune.com, 30 May 2018
  • There’s an allusion, both in this book’s title and in the stories themselves, to Andy Warhol’s screen tests.
    — Tobias Carroll, Longreads, 25 July 2019
  • That was a none-too-subtle allusion to the U.S. men’s team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
    — Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com, 16 Oct. 2017
  • But beyond the allusion to chaos, the beer itself seems pretty great.
    — Sammy Nickalls, Esquire, 4 Feb. 2017
  • In addition to the passionate embrace, there is a subtler allusion there, too: the man’s large hand melds with the arm of the boy.
    — New York Times, 13 Jan. 2021
  • But the speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, made a wry allusion to more turbulent times.
    — Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Sep. 2022
  • In part this is a function of Sebald’s use of allusion and collage.
    — Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 25 Feb. 2021
  • Three different rallies so far this week, and not a word, not any allusion to it at all.
    — AJC.com, 17 Dec. 2016
  • But its use of Christian allusions didn't sit right in some schools, either.
    — refinery29.com, 7 Mar. 2018
  • The song's most revealing lyric is in the chorus, when John begs to help him get his feet back on the ground, no doubt an allusion to the band's massive fame.
    — and Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2024
  • The first look, a woman wrapped in all black—an allusion to the now-iconic Miyake spring 1998 show—was a false flag planted to hide the lightness that lay ahead.
    — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2023
  • The statement of facts makes only a fleeting allusion to ...
    — Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 23 Mar. 2024
  • But how do these allusions to the Garden relate to a belief in magic?
    — Ron Charles, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The question is whether today’s crop of English majors will spot the allusion.
    — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2018
  • For Anderson, the allusion to lynching wasn't just a metaphor.
    — John Blake, CNN, 17 Aug. 2019
  • Friends often sent Winslet cards with that very photograph, a winky allusion to her own body.
    — Esther Zuckerman, TIME, 12 Sep. 2024
  • Multiple speakers have made divine allusions to explain Trump's survival over the weekend.
    — David Jackson, USA TODAY, 18 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'allusion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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