mirage

Plural: mirages

Noun

• An optical illusion, especially in deserts or over hot roads.
• an optical illusion in which atmospheric refraction by a layer of hot air distorts or inverts reflections of distant objects
• something illusory and unattainable
• 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.
• An illusion.

Verb

• To cause to appear as or like a mirage.

Examples

• He thought he saw a bonus word, but it was a MIRAGE created by exhaustion.