will-o'-the-wisp

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He has given us a will-o'-the-wisp, and we boastfully proclaim it to be "the morning star."

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun See ignis fatuus.
  2. noun A delusive or misleading hope.

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This word has been looked up 33 times.

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

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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 (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From the name Will (nickname for William).
 

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