mirage

/mɪˈɹɑːʒ/

//mɪˈɹɑːʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mirage" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mirage” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,906. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,906
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, often giving the illusion of a body of water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mirage · mirage · English

mirage · rank #19,906 · 8 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,906
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mockery

Nearest frequency peer: mockery (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mirage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mirage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mirage vs mire
67% similar
mirage vs morale
67% similar
mirage vs Miyagi
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mirage
PropertyValue
Headwordmirage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɪˈɹɑːʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,906
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mirage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).miragelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mockery” (#19,907), “mer” (#19,904), “modulation” (#19,908). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mirage” is #19,906. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around mirage (IPA /mɪˈɹɑːʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,906 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for mirage, with forms such as "imrage", "miarge", and "miraeg". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "mire", "morale", "Miyagi", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: An unadapted borrowing from French mirage c. 1812. The correct English form is mirage, spelled M-I-R-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, often giving the illusion of a body of water.
  2. 2
    An illusion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how mirage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I remember hearing, that in the East the clear and azure waters seem to flow before the weary and parched traveller; yet a little further, and on he urges his weary way, but in vain—the fair stream is a delusion. Even thus happiness is the mirage which leads us over the desert of life, ever fated to end in deceit and disappointment.

Etymology

An unadapted borrowing from French mirage c. 1812.

This word in other languages

espejismo(Español)mirage(Français)Luftspiegelung(Deutsch)miragem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imrage
  • miarge
  • miraeg
  • miragge
  • mirgae
  • mirrage
  • mmirage
  • mriage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mirage - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

imrage2miarge2miraeg2miragge1mirgae2mirrage1mmirage1mriage2
Edit distance from "mirage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mirage"?
"mirage" is spelled M-I-R-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪˈɹɑːʒ/.
What does "mirage" mean?
As a noun, "mirage" means: An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted through a layer of hot air close to the ground, often giving the illusion of a body of water.
What words are commonly confused with "mirage"?
"mirage" is commonly confused with "mire", "morale", "Miyagi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mirage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mirage" is /mɪˈɹɑːʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mirage"?
An unadapted borrowing from French mirage c. 1812. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mirage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

muller#19,911McCann#19,897Manson#19,893occult#19,921

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

perch8 variantsKapoor8 variantsJulien8 variantsponies8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list