Will-o'-the-wisp

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of will o' the wisp. alt-of, alternative
  2. 2
    an illusion that misleads wordnet
  3. 3
    a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
friar's lanternignis fatuusjack-o'-lantern

Example

More examples

"Will-o'-the-wisp is the light phenomenon traditionally ascribed to ghosts."

More for "will-o'-the-wisp"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.