Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Late Latin
Origin: allusio, from Latin alludere; ALLUDE

allusion

 noun
     
al‧lu‧sion [uncountable and countable]
something said or written that mentions a subject, person etc indirectly
allusion to
The committee made no allusion to the former President in its report.
literary/classical/cultural etc allusions
Eliot's poetry is full of biblical allusions.
In his poetry we find many allusions to the human body.
—allusive adjective [only before noun]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary