Atlantis

[at-lan-tis]

noun

a legendary island, first mentioned by Plato, said to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar and to have sunk beneath the sea, but linked by some modern archaeologists with the island of Thera, the surviving remnant of a much larger island destroyed by a volcanic eruption c1500 b.c.

Compare Akrotíri.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for atlantis

reverie, nightmare, delusion, fancy, illusion, vision, mirage, invention, chimera, trip, rainbow, creativity, originality, bubble, flight, apparition, figment, fabrication, vagary, daydream

Examples from the Web for atlantis

Contemporary Examples of atlantis

The philosopher, Plato, linked Santorini with the mythical lost city of Atlantis that sank beneath the waves.
Book a Room for Two in a Santorini Cave
Joanna Eede
June 10, 2014
His 1985 novel Masters of Atlantis concerns the plight of the Gnomons, a group dedicated to sharing the mysteries of Atlantis.
What a Real Cult Novel Looks Like
Drew Toal
April 5, 2013
In Masters of Atlantis, newspaper people “treat as pests those who walk in off the street with inquiries, or even news.”
Charles Portis, a Journalist With True Grit
Jay Jennings
September 25, 2012
Yet, unlike such Grail-oriented conspiracies (and Atlantis, yetis and UFOs), the Shroud very definitely exists.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’
Thomas de Wesselow
April 3, 2012
The Shroud is generally lumped in with silly-season subjects, such as Atlantis, yetis, and UFOs.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’
Thomas de Wesselow
April 3, 2012

Historical Examples of atlantis

Mighty as is the industrial civilization of your day, that of Atlantis was mightier.
The Heads of Apex
Francis Flagg
Of course, the country wasn't then called Atlantis; its real name was A-zooma.
The Heads of Apex
Francis Flagg
The most famous of them all was the overthrow of the island of Atlantis.
Timaeus
Plato
The tale of Atlantis is the fabric of a vision, but it has never ceased to interest mankind.
Timaeus
Plato
Did Plato derive the legend of Atlantis from an Egyptian source?
Timaeus
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for atlantis

Atlantis

noun

(in ancient legend) a continent said to have sunk beneath the Atlantic Ocean west of the Straits of Gibraltar

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

Word Origin and History for atlantis

Atlantis

mythical island-nation, from Greek Atlantis, literally "daughter of Atlas." All references trace to Plato's dialogues "Timaeus" and "Critias," both written c.360 B.C.E.

atlantis in Culture

Atlantis

A kingdom in classical mythology. According to legend, it was once an island in the Atlantic Ocean, was swallowed up in an earthquake, and is now covered by the sea.