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phantom

phantom

60 6.7
A ghost or spirit that people think they see
  • noun
  • /ˈfæntəm/
: fantasma
  • She felt a cold breeze and thought it was the phantom of an ancient spirit.
  • image of the phantom
  • an immaterial phantom

My parents had ordered tickets to Phantom of the Opera.

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Examples

  • Shadows from the fire leaped and danced like pagan phantoms among the black trunks of trees.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Richard rubs his eyes to erase the phantom Andrea, but she darts into his mind's eye.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I knew from the start there was no phantom.

  • A lot of people have had sort of phantom smells or weird smells as a result of of COVID.

  • All these years, i've chased a phantom.

  • Moreover, they are like a phantom entity in the American and Israeli governments' discourses.

    Academic text (1996)
  • In the battle over the meaning of America, armies of phantoms are perpetually on the march.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The moment Descartes had fallen asleep, he believed he saw certain phantoms and was frightened by their appearance.

    Academic text (2017)
  • We both slept poorly for several nights, chased by phantom flames in repeating dream dramas.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Many people claim to have seen a phantom wandering through the old castle at night.

Synonyms

ghost
vsphantom
∞ 3.0

The spirit of a dead person that people can see or feel

is more general, also covering nonhuman or imagined phenomena
spirit
vsphantom
829 7.0

A ghost or supernatural being that can appear to people

is broader, including imagined or hallucinatory nonphysical experiences
hallucination
vsphantom
127 7.5

A false experience in which you see or hear something not there

is not strictly mental, also covering believed supernatural and spiritual beings
presence
vsphantom
79 9.9

A spirit or ghost that people feel is nearby

is focused on visible or clearly perceived unreal entities rather than feeling
apparition
vsphantom
  • Literature
23 8.9

A ghost that people see suddenly

is less focused on sudden appearance and more general
specter
vsphantom
  • US
16 8.6

A ghost that people say appears and frightens them at night

is neutral in tone and covers both frightening and calm beings
phantasm
vsphantom
  • Literature
3 9.9

A thing that seems real but is only in the mind, like a ghost

is wider, also covering spirits and other nonphysical beings
disembodied spirit
vsphantom
  • Literature
1 9.5

A spirit without a body that appears to people or stays near places

is similar but also includes fleeting illusions and sightings
phantasma
vsphantom
  • Literature
1 9.9

A ghost-like figure that seems real but is not

is broader, including both apparitions and imagined phenomena
fantasm
vsphantom
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A ghost that appears to people

also covers nonvisual or merely suggested nonphysical beings

Antonyms

∞ 1.4

The way things really are, not how we imagine or wish

367 2.8

A physical material that objects are made of

Compounds

phantom limb
  • Specialized
4 7.0

A feeling after losing an arm or leg that it is still there

phantom limb pain
  • Specialized
1 7.2

An uncomfortable feeling that seems to come from a missing arm or leg

phantom limb syndrome
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A feeling of pain or other sensations in a missing limb

A pale white plant with almost no leaves that gets food from fungi in shaded forests

How Ghostly

specter
  • US
16 8.6
apparition
  • Literature
23 8.9
phantom
60 6.7
ghost
∞ 3.0

Surface Forms

phantom singular
phantoms plural

Etymology

Phantom comes from an old Greek word that meant 'an appearance' and from the root phan- meaning 'to show' or 'appear', the same root you see in fantasy. So a phantom is something that seems to be there like a ghost but has no real body.