mirage

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
As the heat of the sun's rays quivers over the burning sands, a curious sight called a mirage is often produced.

View all »
Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of light by alternate layers of hot and cool air. Also called fata morgana.
  2. noun Something illusory or insubstantial.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • "It's almost like a mirage, it's there but not there," Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said. —  www.appeal-democrat.com - News :
  • If the arena seems like a mirage, it'll be harder for them to sign on the bottom line. —  Atlantic Yards Report
  • Liquidity was a mirage, and the intention to sell was suspect at best. —  Minyanville
  • We hide our shame that we eagerly entered the desert to live in the mirage, and hide our own idiocy behind a curtain of anger at the people who duped us. —  Ace of Spades HQ
  • Doubters in the industry have suggested that CareerBuilder's "bundle" is something of a mirage, as the value of the print side dissipates. —  Local Onliner
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 154 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from mirer, to look at, from Latin mīrārī, to wonder at, from mīrus, wonderful; see smei- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French mirage (= Portuguese miragem = Italian miragio), from mirer, from Middle Latin mirare, look at: see mirror.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/mɪˈrɑzh/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word several times a year.

Recently looked up

Flu · snide · riprap · recent · resemble

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket