an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, especially the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air
海市蜃楼;幻景。
something that appears real or possible but is not in fact so
幻想;妄想
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to insist that science provides cast-iron knowledge is to believe in a mirage. 坚信科学提供确凿知识等于相信幻想。
"early 19th cent.: from French, from