How to Pronounce Capgras Delusion

Say it like this: KAP-grah deh-LOO-zhun. The first part rhymes with 'cap' and 'rap,' the second part sounds like 'grah' (like the 'a' in 'father'), and the last part is 'deh-LOO-zhun' where the stress falls on 'LOO.' The whole phrase takes about three seconds to say naturally.

The stress falls on the second syllable of 'delusion'—you say it deh-LOO-zhun, not deh-loo-ZHUN. A common mistake is stressing the wrong part of 'delusion,' but remember that 'LOO' gets the emphasis, just like in the word 'illusion.'

Break it into four syllables: Cap-gras de-lu-sion. 'Capgras' is two syllables (CAP-grah), and 'delusion' is three syllables (deh-LOO-zhun), which you can also think of as de-LU-sion.

A delusion is a false belief that a person holds very firmly, even when there is clear evidence it is not true. It's not just a mistake or confusion—it's a conviction that something is real when it actually isn't.

It's a condition where someone becomes convinced that a person they know well (like a family member or friend) has been secretly replaced by an identical-looking impostor. The person with this belief is absolutely certain about it, even though others around them know it isn't true.

The term is named after Joseph Capgras, a French psychiatrist who first described this condition in detail in 1923. Medical conditions are often named after the doctors who discovered or thoroughly documented them.

Yes—words like 'delusional' (adjective form, meaning having or based on false beliefs), 'delusive' (meaning deceiving or misleading), and 'delude' (the verb meaning to trick or fool someone). All of these come from the same Latin root meaning 'to play false.'

Here's an example: 'The doctor explained that Capgras delusion is a rare condition in which someone falsely believes that a loved one has been replaced by an impostor.' This sentence shows how you might use the term when discussing or learning about the condition.