mirage

As nouns the difference between mirage and phantom

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while phantom is something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or apparition; something elusive or delusive.

As a verb mirage

is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

As an adjective phantom is

illusive.

As a proper noun Phantom is

nickname of the F-4B jet fighter flown by Marines in Vietnam.

As nouns the difference between mirage and fancy

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while fancy is the imagination.

As verbs the difference between mirage and fancy

is that mirage is to cause to appear as or like a mirage while fancy is to appreciate without jealousy or greed.

As an adjective fancy is

decorative.

As nouns the difference between mirage and chimera

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while chimera is chimera, or any fantastic creature with parts from different animals.

As a verb mirage

is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

As a proper noun Chimera is

one of the many fantastical offspring of Typhon and Echidna, a multi-headed monster represented as vomiting flames. It had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a dragon for a tail. Killed by the hero Bellerophon in Lycea.

In figuratively terms the difference between mirage and nightmare

is that mirage is an illusion while nightmare is any bad, miserable, difficult or terrifying situation or experience that arouses anxiety, terror, agony or great displeasure.

As nouns the difference between mirage and nightmare

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while nightmare is a female demon or monster, thought to plague people while they slept and cause a feeling of suffocation and terror during sleep.

As a verb mirage

is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

Fantasy is a related term of mirage.

As nouns the difference between fantasy and mirage

is that fantasy is that which comes from one's imagination while mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance.

As verbs the difference between fantasy and mirage

is that fantasy is (literary|psychoanalysis) to fantasize (about) while mirage is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

In transitive terms the difference between mirage and dream

is that mirage is to cause to appear as or like a mirage while dream is to envision as an imaginary experience (usually when asleep).

As nouns the difference between mirage and aberration

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while aberration is the act of wandering; deviation from truth, moral rectitude; abnormal; divergence from the straight, correct, proper, normal, or from the natural state.

As a verb mirage

is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

As nouns the difference between delusion and mirage

is that delusion is a false belief that is resistant to confrontation with actual facts while mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance.

As a verb mirage is

to cause to appear as or like a mirage.

Apparition is a synonym of mirage.

As nouns the difference between mirage and apparition

is that mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, giving the appearance of there being refuge in the distance while apparition is an act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.

As a verb mirage

is to cause to appear as or like a mirage.