mirage
noun
[ ˈmɪrɑːʒ ]
• an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, especially the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air.
• "the surface of the road ahead rippled in the heat mirages"
Similar:
optical illusion,
hallucination,
phantasmagoria,
apparition,
fantasy,
chimera,
trick,
vision,
delusion,
figment of the imagination,
misconception,
pipe dream,
day dream,
phantasm,
Origin:
early 19th century: from French, from se mirer ‘be reflected’, from Latin mirare ‘look at’.
