mirage
/ˈmɪrɑːʒ/noun
1- 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。
1.1
- something that appears real or possible but is not in fact so幻想; 妄想：
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。
词源
early 19th cent.: from French, from se mirer 'be reflected'， from Latin mirare 'look at'.