as white as a ghost
1
5.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
tan blanco como un fantasma
- When I got to the office, she was holding her stomach and looked as white as a ghost.
- look as white as a ghost
Examples
-
She opened it and said, "Eric, you look as white as a ghost!" "I am a ghost," he frowned.
Fiction book (1999) -
You look as white as a ghost.
-
When Aunt Janet got off the phone, she was as white as a ghost.
Fiction book (1999) -
You're as white as a ghost.
-
She was a gray mare all right, but in the morning drizzle she looked as white as a ghost.
Fiction book (1993) -
After hearing the terrible news, she became as white as a ghost.
-
He was so shocked by the surprise that he looked as white as a ghost.
-
When the doctor delivered the diagnosis, he turned as white as a ghost.
Synonyms
412
1.0
Hair or skin that is very pale, often from age
5
5.1
Pale gray in color because of shock or illness
3
5.9
Being very pale and weak from illness or shock
1
4.9
A person with a very pale face because of illness or fear
Pale in the face because of fear, shock, or illness
Antonyms
How Pale
Surface Forms
Morphology
The simile compares someone’s color to a ‘ghost,’ and knowing ‘white’ and ‘ghost’ allows a learner to infer extreme paleness because ghosts are conventionally depicted as very pale. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common metaphorical comparison, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will very likely understand the MWE.
Etymology
As white as a ghost comes from old stories where ghosts are very pale and colorless. Saying someone is white like that gives the image of being 'extremely pale', often from fear, shock, or illness.