Meanings
nounKanizsa triangle (plural Kanizsa triangles)
plural Kanizsa triangles
- An optical illusion in which a number of spatially separated fragments give the illusory impression of the contours of a triangle.
It is called a Kanizsa triangle, after the Italian psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa, who created it in 1955.
2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 67
Origin
Named after Gaetano Kanizsa.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Kanizsa triangle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kanizsa%20triangle
MLA
“Kanizsa triangle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kanizsa%20triangle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kanizsa triangle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kanizsa%20triangle.
Source: Kanizsa triangle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.