as in pipe dream
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for will-o'-the-wisp
Noun
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Yet, Californian secession remains a pipe dream for much more practical reasons: President Trump and the federal government would never consent to California’s departure.—
Robin Epley,
Mercury News,
19 July 2025 -
The only probable means of gumming up the works is if the AI pursuits fizzle out and people become disillusioned that AGI was merely a pipe dream.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
Noun
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The surplus was a mirage, based on assumptions of a $40 billion annual increase in revenues that never happened.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 July 2025
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There’ll be times when people will turn their backs on truth and chase mirages.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Several sources say ignis fatuus, a spark of swamp gas, is the likely cause of the strange light.—
Fox News,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2023
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The story also helped explain ignis fatuus, a natural phenomenon that occurs in marshlands and bogs—such as those in Ireland’s countryside—producing flickering lights as gases from decomposing organic matter combust.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
27 Oct. 2020
Noun
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The maid gazes out the window, her mouth slightly open, as if lost in boredom or a daydream.—
Jerry Saltz,
Vulture,
2 July 2025
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For a home base that’s as inspiring as the journey itself, The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay rises from the cliffs like something out of a coastal daydream.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Will-o'-the-wisp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/will-o%27-the-wisp. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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