ignis fatuus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It flashed through his mind that he had wasted two months pursuing an ignis fatuus, only to have nothing but bitterness at the end, when it might have been ——!
From Six Prize Hawaiian Stories of the Kilohana Art League by W. N. Armstrong
Character, the vital principle of the individual, is the ignis fatuus of the mechanical biographer.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various
Are we following an ignis fatuus in setting it up as the panacea for the defects of our communities?
From Problems in Greek history by John Pentland Mahaffy
How malignantly must this strange ignis fatuus, thought he, dance into the nightly conflict of all these clashing relations!
From Titan: A Romance Vol. II (of 2) by Jean Paul
Blinded by his ill-starred idolatry, he had abandoned even the dignity of concealing it; and followed his ignis fatuus about—constantly forcing his company upon her in a manner that rendered him ridiculous.
From The Finger of Fate A Romance by Mayne Reid
