phantasmagoric

American  

[fan-taz-muh-gawr-ik, -gor-] / fænˌtæz məˈgɔr ɪk, -ˈgɒr- /

Also phantasmagorical sometimes phantasmagorial

adjective

1. having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.

2. having the appearance of an optical illusion, especially one produced by a magic lantern.

3. changing or shifting, as a scene made up of many elements.

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Other Word Forms

• phantasmagorially adverb
• phantasmagorianly adverb
• phantasmagorically adverb

Etymology

Origin of phantasmagoric

First recorded in 1800–10; phantasmagor(ia) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )

Example Sentences

It certainly bests the phantasmagoric desert full of sandworms.

From Salon • Sep. 15, 2024

The costumes of the cachaceros, representing Africans, are phantasmagoric confections of old jaguar pelts, caiman skulls and peccary teeth.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2024

Much that occurs is slightly phantasmagoric, resulting in a story of psychological disorientation as well as physical threat.

From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2023

The same holds for Steve Erickson, whose work blends the phantasmagoric — in “Our Ecstatic Days,” a lake appears at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Hollywood boulevards — with the stuff of daily life.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022

There are like phantasmagoric geniuses interested in the health question.

From Health, Happiness, and Longevity Health without medicine: happiness without money: the result, longevity by McCarty, Louis Philippe