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mirage definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an optical illusion in which atmospheric refraction by a layer of hot air distorts or inverts reflections of distant objects
2: something illusory and unattainable

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French, from mirer to look at, from Latin mirari Date: 1803 1. an optical effect that is sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over a hot pavement, that may have the appearance of a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted, and that is caused by the bending or reflection of rays of light by a layer of heated air of varying density 2. something illusory and unattainable like a mirage Synonyms: see delusion

Britannica Concise

In optics, the deceptive appearance of a distant object caused by the bending of light rays (refraction) in layers of air of varying density. Under certain conditions, such as over a stretch of pavement or desert air heated by intense sunshine, the air cools rapidly with elevation and therefore increases in density and refractive power. Sunlight reflected down from the upper portion of an object will be directed through the cool air in the normal way; although the light would not be seen ordinarily because of the angle, it curves upward after it enters the rarefied hot air near the ground, thus being refracted to the observer's eye as though it had originated below the heated surface. When the sky is the object of the mirage, the land is mistaken for a lake or sheet of water.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, esp. the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road from the reflection of light. 2 an illusory thing. Etymology: F f. se mirer be reflected, f. L mirare look at

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mirage Mi`rage", n. [F., fr. mirer to look at carefully, to aim, se mirer to look at one's self in a glass, to reflect, to be reflected, LL. mirare to look at. See Mirror.] An optical effect, sometimes seen on the ocean, but more frequently in deserts, due to total reflection of light at the surface common to two strata of air differently heated. The reflected image is seen, commonly in an inverted position, while the real object may or may not be in sight. When the surface is horizontal, and below the eye, the appearance is that of a sheet of water in which the object is seen reflected; when the reflecting surface is above the eye, the image is seen projected against the sky. The fata Morgana and looming are species of mirage. By the mirage uplifted the land floats vague in the ether, Ships and the shadows of ships hang in the motionless air. --Longfellow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mirages) 1. A mirage is something which you see when it is extremely hot, for example in the desert, and which appears to be quite near but is actually a long way away or does not really exist. It hovered before his eyes like the mirage of an oasis. N-COUNT 2. If you describe something as a mirage, you mean that it is not real or true, although it may seem to be. The girl was a mirage, cast up by his troubled mind... = illusion N-COUNT: usu sing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

me-razh' (sharabh, "heat-mirage"; Arabic sarab, from verb which means "to go forth," "to flow"; hence, "flowing of water"): "The glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water" (Isa 35:7); the King James Version has "parched ground" and the Revised Version margin "mirage." The same Hebrew word is also used in Isa 49:10, "Neither shall the heat (margin "mirage") nor sun smite them." These are the only uses of the word in the Scriptures, although mirages are very common in the drier parts of the country. However, the context in both cases seems to justify the translation usually given, rather than "mirage."

Alfred H. Joy

Moby Thesaurus

apparition, appearance, bafflement, balk, bamboozlement, befooling, betrayed hope, blasted expectation, blighted hope, blow, bluffing, buffet, calculated deception, circumvention, comedown, conning, cruel disappointment, dash, dashed hope, deceiving, deception, deceptiveness, defeat, defrauding, delusion, delusiveness, disappointment, discomfiture, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, dupery, enmeshment, ensnarement, entanglement, entrapment, failure, fallaciousness, fallacy, fallen countenance, false image, falseness, fata morgana, fiasco, figure, fizzle, flimflam, flimflammery, foiling, fond illusion, fooling, forlorn hope, form, frustration, hallucination, hoodwinking, hope deferred, illusion, image, kidding, letdown, looming, outwitting, overreaching, phantasm, phantom, phasm, phenomenon, presence, putting on, self-deception, setback, shape, snow job, song and dance, sore disappointment, spoofery, spoofing, subterfuge, swindling, tantalization, tease, trickiness, tricking, victimization, vision, willful misconception, wishful thinking