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
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
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
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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
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Below, some of the finest, high-quality ruffled bedding around the web for creating the frothy bedscape of your daydreams.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Ahead of his Central Florida show, Legend talked with the Orlando Sentinel by phone about his early dreams of performing for large audiences, his new Broadway projects and the collaborative nature of his creative process.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Mar. 2026
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McGregor, on the other hand, had viewers in the palm of his hand as Christian, the penniless writer who falls in love with Satine despite her commitment to a truly vile duke, who has invested in the Moulin Rouge and promised to make Satine’s dreams of stage stardom come true.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Those disparate visions were on full display during a Tuesday oversight hearing in which agency leaders, company executives and advisory board members answered lawmakers’ questions about how California managed to spend $450 million on a regional 911 system, only to scrap the design.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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While candidates’ visions for how to best resist ICE differ, the leading candidates have said the agency can’t continue in its current form.—
Olivia Olander,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mirages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mirages. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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