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
  • Grail’s name is an allusion to that search, which many researchers compare to the quest for the Holy Grail.
    — Jonathan Wosen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Sep. 2020
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • Guggenheim donned a crown rimmed with forks, an allusion to the uselessness of cutlery in a time of little food.
    — Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2023
  • In an allusion to its brief life span, Aristotle dubbed the insect ephemeron.
    — Robert O'Harrow Jr., Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2022
  • The sticks that protrude are enclosed in glass bell jars, a cheeky allusion to taxidermy displays.
    — Catherine Romano, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2018
  • Gone are the days of dictators on the podium, Kalmar said, with no allusion to Topilow.
    — Zachary Lewis, cleveland, 10 May 2021
  • The show's title refers to the props, but there's also that fairytale allusion to vanity.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 4 July 2018

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.

Last Updated: