as in pipe dream
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Recent Examples of ignis fatuus
Unveiling ignis fatuus: Microlightning between microbubbles.
—
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Several sources say ignis fatuus, a spark of swamp gas, is the likely cause of the strange light.
—Fox News, 3 Mar. 2023
The story also helped explain ignis fatuus, a natural phenomenon that occurs in marshlands and bogs—such as those in Ireland’s countryside—producing flickering lights as gases from decomposing organic matter combust.
—National Geographic, 27 Oct. 2020
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Several sources say ignis fatuus, a spark of swamp gas, is the likely cause of the strange light.
—Fox News, 3 Mar. 2023
The story also helped explain ignis fatuus, a natural phenomenon that occurs in marshlands and bogs—such as those in Ireland’s countryside—producing flickering lights as gases from decomposing organic matter combust.
—National Geographic, 27 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ignis fatuus
Noun
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Most people would consider that to be a pipe dream, but Poulakidas didn’t.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
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The days of a potential merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour seem to be a pipe dream now, especially as LIV stars like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed come back to their old roots.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The catch is that the group may be a mirage.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
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Accompanying the hype of being tipped as one of the future leaders of the USWNT is a personal reflection on the mirage of the captaincy.—
Theo Lloyd-Hughes,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.—
Dylan Lovan,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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Rather than a somewhat normal for Hollywood bakeoff, Paramount plans to kind of smush the two scripts together into one IP chimera.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As the guitar-strumming will-o'-the-wisp Maria von Trapp, Julie Andrews taught us a few of her favorite things.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Lying in this crypt is Nathan Lane’s Willy Loman, a tragic humbug, his delusions contradicted by the ruins around him.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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His delusion is central to why this revival is so potent.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The theme-park-like aesthetic added to the unreality of Annie's situation, living mostly in solitary confinement for the years after the world ended.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 Feb. 2026
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Contributing to this air of unreality is Kari Kankaanpää’s production design, in which everything feels a little heightened and stylized.—
Catherine Bray,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
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More than masturbatory daydreams, Vladimir inspires our heroine to write with abandon, ignoring professional and personal obligations in service to her muse.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ignis fatuus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ignis%20fatuus. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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