phantasm
Americannoun
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an apparition or specter.
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a creation of the imagination or fancy; fantasy.
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a mental image or representation of a real object.
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an illusory likeness of something.
- Synonyms:
- illusion, hallucination
noun
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a phantom
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an illusory perception of an object, person, etc
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(in the philosophy of Plato) objective reality as distorted by perception
Related Words
See apparition.
Other Word Forms
- phantasmal adjective
- phantasmally adverb
Etymology
Origin of phantasm
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Latin phantasma, from Greek phántasma “image, vision” (akin to phantázein “to bring before the mind”); replacing Middle English fantesme, from Old French, from Latin as above
Explanation
If you've ever caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure late at night, you've seen a phantasm — something that only appears to exist. A phantasm is an apparition or ghost, something that seems very real when you see it but less so as time goes by. It's not real, but an illusion or brief hallucination that might be caused by a vivid dream, illness, or a lack of sleep. The Greek root is phantasma, "image or phantom," with in turn comes from phantazein, "to make visible."
Vocabulary lists containing phantasm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
David Hume, the 18th Century philosopher, described it as “the phantasm of the senses.”
From Salon • Nov. 16, 2024
Martin Riker’s novel “The Guest Lecture” begins when a faltering academic conjures up an imaginary phantasm of the early-20th-century economist John Maynard Keynes.
From Washington Post • Jan. 19, 2023
A hellish phantasm of a doe-human hybrid that will definitely stalk and kill you in a dream tonight?
From The Guardian • Aug. 12, 2019
“It’s like a gargoyle with weird green eyes that pulls on my hair or nibbles my ear”—he jerked his head away and smiled reprovingly at the phantasm.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 11, 2019
She dissolved the phantasm like a moth at sunup, and slipped into its place.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
