mirage

American  

[mi-rahzh] / mɪˈrɑʒ /

noun

mirages plural

1. an optical phenomenon, especially in the desert or at sea, by which the image of some object appears displaced above, below, or to one side of its true position as a result of spatial variations of the index of refraction of air.

2. something illusory, without substance or reality.

   Synonyms:

   fancy, phantom, illusion

3. Military. Mirage, any of a series of supersonic, delta-wing, multirole French fighter-bombers.

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mirage British  

/ mɪˈrɑːʒ /

noun

1. an image of a distant object or sheet of water, often inverted or distorted, caused by atmospheric refraction by hot air

2. something illusory

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mirage Scientific  

/ mĭ-räzh′ /

1. An image formed under certain atmospheric conditions, in which objects appear to be reflected or displaced or in which nonexistent objects seem to appear. For example, the difference in the index of refraction between a low layer of very hot air and a higher level of cold air can cause light rays, travelling down from an object (such as the sky or a cloud) and passing through ever warmer air, to be refracted back up again. An observer viewing these light rays perceives them coming up off the ground, and thus sees the inverted image of the object, which appears lower than the object really is. In this way the sky itself can be reflected, resulting in the mirage of a distant lake.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mirages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mirage

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, equivalent to (se) mir(er) “to look at (oneself), be reflected” (from Latin mīrārī “to wonder at”) + -age -age

Explanation

Next time you’re traveling in the desert, make sure you carry plenty of water. That enticing pool of water you see far away in the distance may be a mirage, or an optical illusion. A mirage is created when light is distorted by layers of hot air. A mirage that looks like a body of water is actually an image of the sky. Even if you don’t spend much time in the desert, you may have noticed this phenomenon when driving on the highway on a hot day. Under certain conditions you can see in the distance what appears to be a puddle of water across the road. You’ll never reach the puddle, however: it’s just an illusion. The word mirage can be used in a more general sense to refer to anything that is unattainable or a false perception.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mirage mirages

But it all proved to be a mirage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

The concept of the Great American Novel, introduced by John W. De Forest in 1868, has always been a mirage, since the country is too varied to be contained in a single work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

See more: The massive run-up in AI stocks this year may be built on a ‘token mirage’

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

Like Lionel Messi before him, Lamine Yamal has perfected the art of weaving in off the right flank, a hazy mirage of blaugrana turning defenders to stone, before a trademark left-foot finish.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

Before I could dive for him, he vanished like a strange mirage.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

It was the first of many Majorana mirages.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 20, 2023

The tale of that man, his map, and the place it led to is really one about Southern California’s twin mirages — fame and fortune — and the people who seek one or the other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

Careful spectral analysis can reveal which arcs in deep-field images are actually mirror images and which are instead mirages.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 21, 2022

Meanwhile her friend Jason Henza experience demonstrates why such communities often prove to be mirages.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2022

Sleep enveloped him like the swathing mirages that were wrestling with the brilliance of the lagoon.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding