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Mirage: alternatives and connections

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Mirage

An optical effect, sometimes seen on the ocean, but more frequently in deserts, due to total reflection of light at the surface common to two strata of air differently heated. The reflected image is seen, commonly in an inverted position, while the real object may or may not be in sight. When the surface is horizontal, and below the eye, the appearance is that of a sheet of water in which the object is seen reflected; when the reflecting surface is above the eye, the image is

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Reviewed alternatives and contrasts

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Narrower term 1

Fata Morgana 76% connected

A kind of mirage by which distant objects appear inverted, distorted, displaced, or multiplied. It is noticed particularly at the Straits of Messina,…

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a narrower or more specific lexical category.

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Broader term 1

Misconception 76% connected

Erroneous conception; false opinion; wrong understanding.

oewn 2023 0% interchangeable

Open English WordNet identifies the related term as a broader lexical category for at least one sense.

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Words from the same subject

These terms belong to the same specialist field or topic. They help you explore the subject, but they are not automatically synonyms.

Avalanche noun · 78% connection

a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Crack noun · 78% connection

a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Crack cocaine noun · 78% connection

a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Cyclone noun · 78% connection

(meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere…

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Drought noun · 78% connection

a shortage of rainfall; "farmers most affected by the drought hope that there may yet be sufficient rain early in the growing season"

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Drouth noun · 78% connection

a shortage of rainfall; "farmers most affected by the drought hope that there may yet be sufficient rain early in the growing season"

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Earthquake noun · 78% connection

shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane or from volcanic activity

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Eructation noun · 78% connection

(of volcanoes) pouring out fumes or lava (or a deposit so formed)

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Eruption noun · 78% connection

(of volcanoes) pouring out fumes or lava (or a deposit so formed)

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Estrus noun · 78% connection

applies to nonhuman mammals: a state or period of heightened sexual arousal and activity

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Extravasation noun · 78% connection

(of volcanoes) pouring out fumes or lava (or a deposit so formed)

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Flood noun · 78% connection

the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide); "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the f…

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Flood tide noun · 78% connection

the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide); "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the f…

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Heat noun · 78% connection

applies to nonhuman mammals: a state or period of heightened sexual arousal and activity

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Heat wave noun · 78% connection

a wave of unusually hot weather

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Hurricane noun · 78% connection

a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Landslide noun · 78% connection

a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Landslip noun · 78% connection

a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff

Used in the same subject area: Nature and environment, Natural hazards.
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Words connected by meaning

Their definitions overlap or refer to similar ideas. Use these to widen your search, then compare the exact meanings.

Abundance noun · 78% connection

(chemistry) the ratio of the total mass of an element in the earth's crust to the total mass of the earth's crust; expressed as a perc…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Albedo noun · 78% connection

Whiteness. Specifically: (Astron.) The ratio which the light reflected from an unpolished surface bears to the total light falling upo…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
Definition Compare
Amnesia noun · 78% connection

partial or total loss of memory; "he has a total blackout for events of the evening"

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Apparent adjective · 78% connection

Capable of being seen, or easily seen; open to view; visible to the eye; within sight or view.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Asterism noun · 78% connection

An optical property of some crystals which exhibit a star-shaped by reflected light, as star sapphire, or by transmitted light, as som…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Atlantic adjective · 78% connection

Of or pertaining to Mt. Atlas in Libya, and hence applied to the ocean which lies between Europe and Africa on the east and America on…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Balance noun · 78% connection

To arrange accounts in such a way that the sum total of the debits is equal to the sum total of the credits; as, to balance a set of b…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Billion noun · 78% connection

the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; in the United Kingdom the usage followed in the United States is frequen…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Brine noun · 78% connection

The ocean; the water of an ocean, sea, or salt lake.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Catadioptrical adjective · 78% connection

Pertaining to, produced by, or involving, both the reflection and refraction of light; as, a catadioptric light.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
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Diorama noun · 78% connection

A mode of scenic representation, invented by Daguerre and Bouton, in which a painting is seen from a distance through a large opening.…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
Definition Compare
Fluorescence noun · 78% connection

That property which some transparent bodies have of producing at their surface, or within their substance, light different in color fr…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: optical, effect, seen, ocean, frequently.
Definition Compare
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