chimera vs mirage

chimera

noun
  • A foolish, incongruous, or vain thought or product of the imagination. 

  • An organism with genetically distinct cells originating from two or more zygotes. 

  • Any fantastic creature combining parts from different animals. 

  • Synonym of bogeyman: any terrifying thing, especially as an unreal, imagined threat. 

  • Anything composed of very disparate parts. 

  • A grotesque like a gargoyle, but without a spout for rainwater. 

mirage

noun
  • An illusion. 

  • 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. 

verb
  • To cause to appear as or like a mirage. 

How often have the words chimera and mirage occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )