What does "mirage" mean?

An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, often giving the illusion of a body of water.

What is a synonym for "mirage"?

Common synonyms include: apparition, appearance, associate, bafflement, balk, bamboozlement.

//mɪˈɹɑːʒ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, often giving the illusion of a body of water.
2
something illusory and unattainable wordnet
3
An illusion. figuratively
"I remember hearing, that in the East the clear and azure waters seem to flow before the weary and parched traveller; yet a little further, and on he urges his weary way, but in vain—the fair stream is a delusion. Even thus happiness is the mirage which leads us over the desert of life, ever fated to end in deceit and disappointment."
4
an optical illusion in which atmospheric refraction by a layer of hot air distorts or inverts reflections of distant objects wordnet

Verb

1
To cause to appear as or like a mirage. transitive
"All that had been in his mind seemed suddenly miraged before him—the removal of Hunterleys, his own wife's failing health."