phantom

or fan·tom

[ fan-tuhm ]
/ ˈfæn təm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR phantom ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an apparition or specter.
an appearance or illusion without material substance, as a dream image, mirage, or optical illusion.
a person or thing of merely illusory power, status, efficacy, etc.: the phantom of fear.
an illustration, part of which is given a transparent effect so as to permit representation of details otherwise hidden from view, as the inner workings of a mechanical device.

adjective

Origin of phantom

1250–1300; Middle English fantosme < Middle French, Old French < Latin phantasma phantasm

synonym study for phantom

1, 2. See apparition.

OTHER WORDS FROM phantom

phan·tom·like, adjective

Words nearby phantom

phantasmagoric, phantasmagory, phantasmal, phantast, phantasy, phantom, phantom circuit, phantom corpuscle, phantom limb, phantom limb pain, phantom pregnancy

Words related to phantom

hallucination, nightmare, daydream, haunt, apparition, spirit, delusion, dream, revenant, illusion, figment, chimera, shade, spook, mirage, shadow, phantasm, specter, vision, wraith

Example sentences from the Web for phantom

British Dictionary definitions for phantom

phantom
/ (ˈfæntəm) /

noun

  1. an apparition or spectre
  2. (as modifier)a phantom army marching through the sky
the visible representation of something abstract, esp as appearing in a dream or hallucination phantoms of evil haunted his sleep
something apparently unpleasant or horrific that has no material form
med another name for manikin (def. 2b)

Word Origin for phantom

C13: from Old French fantosme, from Latin phantasma phantasm

Medical definitions for phantom

phantom

n.

Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality.
An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.
A model, especially a transparent one, of the human body or of any of its parts.

adj.

Resembling, characteristic of, or being a phantom; illusive.
Fictitious; nonexistent.