Pareidolia

Pronunciation: /pærɪˈdoʊliə/

Definitions of pareidolia

noun the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern

Example Sentences

A1 Pareidolia is when you see faces in objects like clouds or rocks.

A2 Some people believe pareidolia is a natural human tendency to find patterns in random shapes.

B1 Pareidolia can be experienced in various forms, such as seeing animals in clouds or shapes in shadows.

B2 Artists often use pareidolia as inspiration for creating unique and imaginative pieces.

C1 Pareidolia has been studied by psychologists to understand how the brain processes visual information.

C2 The phenomenon of pareidolia can lead to religious or supernatural interpretations of everyday objects.

Examples of pareidolia in a Sentence

formal Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon where the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists.

informal Some people experience pareidolia when they see shapes in clouds or faces in inanimate objects.

slang I swear I saw a pareidolia of a cat in that stain on the wall.

figurative His pareidolia caused him to believe he saw a hidden message in the random arrangement of leaves on the ground.

Grammatical Forms of pareidolia

• past tense: pareidoliaed
• plural: pareidolias
• comparative: more pareidolic
• superlative: most pareidolic
• present tense: pareidolia
• future tense: will pareidolia
• perfect tense: have pareidoliaed
• continuous tense: is pareidoliating
• singular: pareidolia
• positive degree: pareidolic
• infinitive: to pareidolia
• gerund: pareidoliating
• participle: pareidoliaed

Origin and Evolution of pareidolia

First Known Use: 1920 year

Language of Origin: Greek

Story behind the word: The word 'pareidolia' originates from the Greek words 'para' (meaning beside) and 'eidos' (meaning form or shape), and was first used in the context of psychology.

Evolution of the word: Initially used in psychology to describe the phenomenon of perceiving familiar patterns or shapes in random stimuli, 'pareidolia' has since been adopted in various fields such as art, religion, and popular culture to describe similar instances of seeing meaningful images in unrelated objects or phenomena.