apparition

[ ap-uh-rish-uhn ]
/ ˌæp əˈrɪʃ ən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR apparition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, especially a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith: a ghostly apparition at midnight.
anything that appears, especially something remarkable or startling: the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York City.
an act of appearing; manifestation.
Astronomy. the appearance or time when a comet, especially a periodic one, is visible: the 1986 apparition of Halley's comet.

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Origin of apparition

1400–50; late Middle English apparicio(u)n < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin appāritiōn- (stem of appāritiō, as calque of Greek epipháneia epiphany), equivalent to Latin appārit(us) (past participle of appārēre; see appear) + -iōn- -ion

synonym study for apparition

1. Apparition, phantasm, phantom are terms for a supernatural appearance. An apparition of a person or thing is an immaterial appearance that seems real, and is generally sudden or startling in its manifestation: an apparition of a headless horseman. Both phantom and phantasm denote an illusory appearance, as in a dream; the former may be pleasant, while the latter is usually frightening: a phantom of loveliness; a monstrous phantasm.

OTHER WORDS FROM apparition

ap·pa·ri·tion·al, adjectivenon·ap·pa·ri·tion·al, adjective

Words nearby apparition

apparent temperature, apparent time, apparent wind, apparentement, apparently, apparition, apparitor, appassionato, appd., appeal, appeal play
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to apparition

phantom, visitant, revenant, delusion, haunt, bogeyman, specter, chimera, spirit, spook, hallucination, phantasm, illusion

Example sentences from the Web for apparition

British Dictionary definitions for apparition

apparition
/ (ˌæpəˈrɪʃən) /

noun

an appearance, esp of a ghost or ghostlike figure
the figure so appearing; phantom; spectre
the act of appearing or being visible

Word Origin for apparition

C15: from Late Latin appāritiō, from Latin: attendance, from appārēre to appear
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012