will-o'-the-wisp
Americannoun
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Also called: friar's lantern. ignis fatuus. jack-o'-lantern. a pale flame or phosphorescence sometimes seen over marshy ground at night. It is believed to be due to the spontaneous combustion of methane or other hydrocarbons originating from decomposing organic matter
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a person or thing that is elusive or allures and misleads
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of will-o'-the-wisp
1600–10; originally Will (i.e., William) with the wisp; see wisp
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More myths would have surrounded the eerie blue glow of will-o'-the-wisp – methane from peat beds burning over the top of the marshes.
From BBC • Dec. 25, 2024
Instead, for some reason, he followed Javy Báez down the line, as if Javy Báez was a will-o’-the-wisp.
From Slate • May 27, 2021
The idea of parliamentary elections, in principle scheduled for September, at this point is only a will-o’-the-wisp.
From Washington Times • May 7, 2018
Another is Yanowsky's will-o'-the-wisp solo, Sirin, choreographed by her brother Yury, who plays to her strengths: her steely technique, her way of making odd moves look natural, and familar ones – tendus, arabesques and suchlike – look strange.
From The Guardian • Jul. 29, 2011
“He is given to many disguises. He is a veritable will-o’-the-wisp, scurrying here and there in his never- ending search for marauders.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
