Definition of "mirage" []

• An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of light by alternate layers of hot and cool air. Also called fata morgana. (noun)
• Something illusory or insubstantial. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "So that can be blamed for the fact that actually, in the celebrity world, the self-made mirage is even more obvious if you look at the facts, than if you try to figure out the nepotistic and class connections of other worlds (in the boardrooms of North America, for example)."
• "(Aug. 25): The root of the word mirage is to look at or to admire."
• "And second, you will create a mirage from the heat that rises off the barrel, causing you to see your groups as being higher than they are."