English Dictionary

WILL-O'-THE-WISP

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IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does will-o'-the-wisp mean? 

WILL-O'-THE-WISP (noun)
  The noun WILL-O'-THE-WISP has 2 senses:

1. a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy groundplay

2. an illusion that misleadsplay

  Familiarity information: WILL-O'-THE-WISP used as a noun is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


WILL-O'-THE-WISP (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

A pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

friar's lantern; ignis fatuus; jack-o'-lantern; will-o'-the-wisp

Hypernyms ("will-o'-the-wisp" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)


Sense 2

Meaning:

An illusion that misleads

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

ignis fatuus; will-o'-the-wisp

Hypernyms ("will-o'-the-wisp" is a kind of...):

fancy; fantasy; illusion; phantasy (something many people believe that is false)


 Context examples 


What did I do, Jane? I transformed myself into a will-o'-the-wisp.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Transcendentalism is a beacon to the angels, even if it be a will-o'-the-wisp to man.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"It never rains, but it pours." (English proverb)

"A good man does not take what belongs to someone else." (Native American proverb, Pueblo)

"Fire is more bearable than disgrace." (Arabic proverb)

"Forbidden fruit is the sweetest." (Czech proverb)



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