Modern Classics: DELULU

Disassociated from reality

Saturdays are perfect days for colloquial surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the slang word delulu today!

English is a living language, and our most fascinating words include some of our most recent additions. That’s how I feel about the word delulu, which seems to pop up everywhere.

delulu (adj) - maintaining false or unrealistic beliefs; deluded or delusional

Basically, delulu is playful way to call someone delusional. Fun, right? This playfulness is in keeping this word’s etymology:

BREAKDOWN: DE- (down) + LUD- (to play) + -ION (state) + -AL (pertaining to)

LUD- meaning to play is the base of many common words, including collude, illusion, and interlude. So, when you’re dealing with people laboring under false beliefs in a non-clinical setting, don’t diagnose them as delusional—tag them as delulu.

“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” —Carl Sagan