As humans, we are far from being truthful to ourselves always. We idealize certain situations that are sometimes impossible or not in our favour. This could be idealizing a perfect match or even a position in a company after bare minimum efforts. In the world of social media, this is called being “delulu”.
This phrase refers to a slang expression used to characterize people who have a level of delusion or exaggerated optimism, particularly when it comes to relationships, fandoms, or personal objectives. It is sometimes used in a joking or mocking tone to highlight someone’s highly idealized or implausible ideas. It ensures to bring into attention how someone is idealising something that is possible in the head, but otherwise less likely to happen.
Examples and usage for Delulu-
Enthusiasm for a Fandom:
A fan of a popular celebrity, for example, believes that two stars are secretly in love based on fortunate interactions.
Translation: “Caught up in the delulu world, fans are speculating a secret romance between the actors after a single photo together.”
On another note, we could take an example of how people assume things in movies can always occur in real life. Translation – “She met him a week ago and is all delulu as if he would propose so soon as it happens in the movies.”
Assumptions about Relationships:
Example: Despite limited communication, a person believes their crush is truly in love with them.
Examples of usage: “Some individuals are a bit delulu, reading too much into every text and thinking it’s a declaration of undying love.” “I can’t believe she is so delulu that she thinks he has feelings for her even after he’s clearly going out with someone else!”
Career Prospects:
For instance, an aspiring artist asserts that they will become a global superstar overnight despite having no prior expertise.
Meaning of the phrase: “While ambition is great, being a bit delulu about overnight stardom without hard work may lead to disappointment.”
It is so accurately applicable to all the students who study nothing for the whole academic year and end up idealizing good scores with a day of preparation. Meaning – “He studied nothing for the whole year and is now delulu that he will somehow clear the semester with good scores.”