Standard Lemma guide

mirage

noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /mɪˈɹɑːʒ/
  • /mɪˈɹaʒ/
  • /mɪˈɹɑːd͡ʒ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑːʒ
  • CMU ARPABET: M ER0 AA1 ZH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: optical illusion

2

noun

Meaning 2

An illusion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To cause to appear as or like a mirage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

something illusory and unattainable

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misconception

5

noun

Meaning 5

an optical illusion in which atmospheric refraction by a layer of hot air distorts or inverts reflections of distant objects

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: optical illusion

Narrower terms: fata morgana

History

Etymology

An unadapted borrowing from French mirage c. 1812.

Across languages

Translations

114 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: mirazh — an optical phenomenon
  • Arabic: سَرَاب (sarāb) — an optical phenomenon
  • Armenian: միրաժ (miraž) — an optical phenomenon
  • Armenian: օդատեսիլ (ōdatesil) — an optical phenomenon
  • Assamese: মৰীচিকা (morisika) — an optical phenomenon
  • Asturian: espeyismu — an optical phenomenon
  • Azerbaijani: miraj — an optical phenomenon
  • Azerbaijani: ilğım — an optical phenomenon
  • Azerbaijani: sərab — an optical phenomenon
  • Belarusian: міра́ж (miráž) — an optical phenomenon
  • Belarusian: ма́рыва (máryva) — an optical phenomenon
  • Bengali: মরীচিকা (moricika) — an optical phenomenon
  • Bulgarian: мира́ж (miráž) — an optical phenomenon
  • Burmese: လင်းလပ် (lang:lap) — an optical phenomenon
  • Burmese: တံလျှပ် (tamhlyap) — an optical phenomenon
  • Catalan: miratge — an optical phenomenon
  • Cherokee: ᎠᎪᏩᏛᏗ (agowadvdi) — an optical phenomenon
  • Chinese Mandarin: 海市蜃樓 /海市蜃楼 (hǎishìshènlóu) — an optical phenomenon
  • Chinese Mandarin: 蜃景 (shènjǐng) — an optical phenomenon
  • Chinese Mandarin: 海市 (hǎishì) — an optical phenomenon
  • Chinese Mandarin: 蜃氣 /蜃气 (shènqì) — an optical phenomenon
  • Cornish: miraj — an optical phenomenon
  • Czech: fata morgána — an optical phenomenon
  • Czech: přelud — an optical phenomenon
  • Danish: luftspejling — an optical phenomenon
  • Dutch: luchtspiegeling — an optical phenomenon
  • Esperanto: miraĝo — an optical phenomenon
  • Esperanto: fatamorgano — an optical phenomenon
  • Estonian: miraaž — an optical phenomenon
  • Finnish: kangastus — an optical phenomenon
  • French: mirage — an optical phenomenon
  • Galician: miraxe — an optical phenomenon
  • Galician: espellismo — an optical phenomenon
  • Georgian: მირაჟი (miraži) — an optical phenomenon
  • German: Luftspiegelung — an optical phenomenon
  • German: Fata Morgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Greek: αντικατοπτρισμός (antikatoptrismós) — an optical phenomenon
  • Greek: οφθαλμαπάτη (ofthalmapáti) — an optical phenomenon
  • Hebrew: מִירָאז׳ (mirázh) — an optical phenomenon
  • Hebrew: חֶזְיוֹן תַּעְתּוּעִים (khezyón ta'tu'ím) — an optical phenomenon
  • Hindi: मरीचिका (marīcikā) — an optical phenomenon
  • Hindi: मृगतृष्णा (mŕgtŕṣṇā) — an optical phenomenon
  • Hungarian: délibáb — an optical phenomenon
  • Icelandic: hilling — an optical phenomenon
  • Indonesian: fatamorgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Italian: miraggio — an optical phenomenon
  • Japanese: 蜃気楼 (shinkirō) — an optical phenomenon
  • Kalmyk: эрәлҗн (eräljn) — an optical phenomenon
  • Kazakh: сағым (sağym) — an optical phenomenon
  • Khmer: មរិចិកា (meaʔriʔceʔkaa) — an optical phenomenon
  • Korean: 신기루 (sin'giru) — an optical phenomenon
  • Central Kurdish: تِراویلکە (tirawîlke) — an optical phenomenon
  • Kyrgyz: закым (zakım) — an optical phenomenon
  • Lao: ຕາຫລອກ (tā lǭk) — an optical phenomenon
  • Lao: ພະຍັບແດດ (pha nyap dǣt) — an optical phenomenon
  • Latvian: mirāža — an optical phenomenon
  • Lithuanian: miražas — an optical phenomenon
  • Macedonian: привиде́ние (prividénie) — an optical phenomenon
  • Macedonian: фатаморга́на (fatamorgána) — an optical phenomenon
  • Malay: fatamorgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Malay: logamaya — an optical phenomenon
  • Māori: tiritiri — an optical phenomenon
  • Mongolian: зэрэглээ (zereglee) — an optical phenomenon
  • Navajo: hadahooneeyą́ — an optical phenomenon
  • Navajo: hadahooneeyánígíí — an optical phenomenon
  • Norwegian Bokmål: luftspeiling — an optical phenomenon
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hildring — an optical phenomenon
  • Persian: سراب (sarâb) — an optical phenomenon
  • Persian: گوراب (gurâb) — an optical phenomenon
  • Persian: تیژه (tiže) — an optical phenomenon
  • Persian: گتیر (gatir) — an optical phenomenon
  • Persian: گویر (gavir) — an optical phenomenon
  • Plautdietsch: Loftspieejel — an optical phenomenon
  • Polish: miraż — an optical phenomenon
  • Polish: fatamorgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Portuguese: miragem — an optical phenomenon
  • Romanian: miraj — an optical phenomenon
  • Russian: мира́ж (miráž) — an optical phenomenon
  • Russian: ма́рево (márevo) — an optical phenomenon
  • Russian: фа́та морга́на (fáta morgána) — an optical phenomenon
  • Sanskrit: मरीचिका (marīcikā) — an optical phenomenon
  • Serbo-Croatian: фатаморгана — an optical phenomenon
  • Serbo-Croatian: мираж — an optical phenomenon
  • Serbo-Croatian: fatamorgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Serbo-Croatian: miraž — an optical phenomenon
  • Slovak: fatamorgána — an optical phenomenon
  • Slovak: prelud — an optical phenomenon
  • Slovene: fatamorgana — an optical phenomenon
  • Slovene: privid — an optical phenomenon
  • Spanish: espejismo — an optical phenomenon
  • Swahili: sarabi — an optical phenomenon
  • Swahili: mangati — an optical phenomenon
  • Swedish: hägring — an optical phenomenon
  • Tagalog: malikmata — an optical phenomenon
  • Tajik: сароб (sarob) — an optical phenomenon
  • Tamil: கானல் நீர் (kāṉal nīr) — an optical phenomenon
  • Tamil: கானனீர் (kāṉaṉīr) — an optical phenomenon
  • Tamil: கானல் (kāṉal) — an optical phenomenon
  • Telugu: ఎండమావి (eṇḍamāvi) — an optical phenomenon
  • Thai: มิราจ (mírâat) — an optical phenomenon
  • Thai: ภาพลวงตา (pâappáluang dtaa) — an optical phenomenon
  • Turkish: serap — an optical phenomenon
  • Turkish: ılgım — an optical phenomenon
  • Ottoman Turkish: سراب (serab) — an optical phenomenon
  • Turkmen: sagym — an optical phenomenon
  • Turkmen: salgym — an optical phenomenon
  • Ukrainian: міра́ж (miráž) — an optical phenomenon
  • Ukrainian: ма́рево (márevo) — an optical phenomenon
  • Urdu: سراب (sarāb) — an optical phenomenon
  • Uzbek: sarob — an optical phenomenon
  • Vietnamese: ảo ảnh — an optical phenomenon
  • Volapük: magälod — an optical phenomenon
  • Yiddish: אָפּדוכט (opdukht) — an optical phenomenon
  • Yiddish: אויסווײַזעניש (oysvayzenish) — an optical phenomenon
Real reading context

mirage in complete knowledge articles