as in daydreams
something that comes from or exists only in the mind and is not real
He thought he saw water up ahead but it was just a mirage.
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Recent Examples of mirages
These wall drawings—at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, in 2024; the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2025; and Houston’s Menil Collection, in 2025—were all temporary, like frolicsome mirages.
—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
The film opens with real mirages filmed near Aswan in Egypt, where atmospheric conditions produce optical distortions.
—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Multimodal models see ‘mirages’ This past week has brought yet more evidence of how weird these models are.
—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Bat away mirages and stick to what’s really in your viewfinder.
—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
At the frontier edge of astronomy, tantalizing new observations have a tendency to be mirages.
—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
24 Sep. 2025
But inside, slabs of colored glass, hunks of polished resin, and sundry material experiments gleam like mirages in the sunlight that streams in from the ceiling and windows.
—
Hannah Martin,
Architectural Digest,
4 Sep. 2025
The Great Plain stretches beneath poetic skies where herds graze and mirages dance—while thermal springs bubble in ornate bathhouses like Széchenyi—their steam rising through vaulted ceilings.
—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
The film opens with real mirages filmed near Aswan in Egypt, where atmospheric conditions produce optical distortions.
—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Multimodal models see ‘mirages’ This past week has brought yet more evidence of how weird these models are.
—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Bat away mirages and stick to what’s really in your viewfinder.
—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
At the frontier edge of astronomy, tantalizing new observations have a tendency to be mirages.
—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
24 Sep. 2025
But inside, slabs of colored glass, hunks of polished resin, and sundry material experiments gleam like mirages in the sunlight that streams in from the ceiling and windows.
—
Hannah Martin,
Architectural Digest,
4 Sep. 2025
The Great Plain stretches beneath poetic skies where herds graze and mirages dance—while thermal springs bubble in ornate bathhouses like Széchenyi—their steam rising through vaulted ceilings.
—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mirages
Noun
-
And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.
-
One-touch passing, feinting and ripping hard shots into a tattered net, each is super-charged by vivid daydreams of glory on the international stage.
Noun
-
As the nation turns 250 years old, USA TODAY decided to create a time capsule, not of items but of dreams Americans hold for the country’s future.
-
Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams.
Noun
-
The man cannot help himself, visions be damned.
-
The future north campus remains a contest of differing visions.
Cite this Entry
“Mirages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mirages. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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