From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishallusional‧lu‧sion /əˈluːʒən/ noun [countable, uncountable] MENTIONsomething said or written that mentions a subject, person etc indirectlyallusion 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 /-sɪv/ adjective [only before noun]
Examples from the Corpus
allusion• Like the cabalistic use of hints and allusions, it achieves results seemingly out of proportion to the measures employed.• Many pages of the New Testament contain quotations or allusions to the Old Testament.• The play abounds in biblical and religious allusions, typical of Romantic works, and also prevalent in the comedia lacrimosa.• Paige looked round, unsure if he was making some allusion to her or not.• The allusion to clouds is anything but fortuitous, emphasizing as it does the link between the sound of drums and thunder.• In various other places and strands of the New Testament we find similar unselfconscious allusions to the three persons in the deity.literary/classical/cultural etc allusions• The thing about Mr Healey's delightful book is not only the bloody poetry but the classical allusions.Origin allusion (1600-1700) Late Latin allusio, from Latin alludere; → ALLUDE 