phantasmagoria

American  

[fan-taz-muh-gawr-ee-uh, -gohr-] / fænˌtæz məˈgɔr i ə, -ˈgoʊr- /

noun

1. a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination.

2. a changing scene made up of many elements.

3. an optical illusion produced by a magic lantern or the like in which figures increase or diminish in size, pass into each other, dissolve, etc.

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phantasmagoria British  

/ ˌfæntæzməˈɡɒrɪk, ˌfæntæzməˈɡɔːrɪə, fænˈtæzməɡərɪ /

noun

1. psychol a shifting medley of real or imagined figures, as in a dream

2. films a sequence of pictures made to vary in size rapidly while remaining in focus

3. rare a shifting scene composed of different elements

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Other Word Forms

• phantasmagorial adjective
• phantasmagorian adjective
• phantasmagoric adjective
• phantasmagorically adverb
• phantasmagorist noun

Etymology

Origin of phantasmagoria

1795–1805; < French fantasmagorie, compound based on fantasme phantasm; second element perhaps representing Greek agorá assembly, gathering; -ia

Example Sentences

The 90-minute opera is basically a phantasmagoria of how Schoenberg got here.

From Los Angeles Times

A high point for polished yet hirsute L.A. rock: The Eagles’ Hollywood phantasmagoria is named record of the year the same night Fleetwood Mac wins the album prize with the darkly glittering “Rumours.”

From Los Angeles Times

In this enormous projection piece, Eliasson unfurls a phantasmagoria of shifting shapes and amorphous space across a vast fabric scrim stretched between the walls of a large, darkened museum gallery.

From Los Angeles Times

Lurking behind Foreman’s madhouse phantasmagorias is the mind of the artist interrogating its own secret chambers.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead of what you’d expect — legions of them, rising up in gory phantasmagoria — I encountered accounts of very few, chiefly demure lady ghosts, swathed in white, blue, or pink, like Disney princesses.

From Los Angeles Times