pareidolia

Borrowed from German Pareidolie, constructed from Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, “alongside”) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image”) + -ία (-ía).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpæɹ.aɪˈdəʊ.li.ə/
• (General American)
  • (Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /ˌpæɹ.iˈdoʊ.li.ə/, /ˌpæɹ.aɪˈdoʊ.li.ə/
  • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /ˌpɛɹ.iˈdoʊ.li.ə/, /ˌpɛɹ.aɪˈdoʊ.li.ə/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊliə
• Hyphenation: par‧ei‧do‧lia

pareidolia (countable and uncountable, plural pareidolias)

1. (psychology) The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.

   Hypernym: apophenia

   • 1868 July, John Sibbald, The British Journal of Psychiatry, volume 13, page 238:

     This last is called by Dr. Kahlbaum, changing hallucination, partial hallucination, perception of secondary images, or pareidolia.

   • 1993, Raymond Moody, Paul Perry, Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 13:

     Pareidolia underlies several forms of divination.

   • 2006, Steve W. Martin, “Choosing Your Battles”, in Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Persuade Customers to Buy, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 150:

     Pareidolias aren't solely limited to images. When I was a youngster, I remember listening to The Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields" over and over to hear what seemed to be "I buried Paul."

   • 2010, Rick Emmer, “Nessies of the New World”, in Loch Ness Monster: Fact or Fiction? (Creature Scene Investigation), New York, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 81:

     Pareidolia is a state of mind where a vague or unclear image is perceived to be something recognizable, regardless of whether it's something you expect to see. The most famous example of pareidolia is the familiar face of the Man in the Moon.

• pareidolic

• pareidolia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Paul McFedries (2004 March 2) “pareidolia”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited, retrieved 4 June 2017.
• “pareidolia” in The Skeptic’s Dictionary

From Ancient Greek παρα- (para-) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon).

pareidolia f (plural pareidolie)

1. pareidolia

• pareidolitico

From Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, “alongside”) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image”).

• IPA^(key): /pa.rɛ.iˈdɔ.lja/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlja
• Syllabification: pa‧re‧i‧do‧lia

pareidolia f

1. pareidolia (tendency to interpret vague stimuli as something familiar)

• pareidolia in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, “alongside”) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image”).

• Hyphenation: pa‧rei‧do‧li‧a

pareidolia f (plural pareidolias)

1. pareidolia (tendency to interpret vague stimuli as something familiar)