wraith
Americannoun
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an apparition of a living person supposed to portend their death.
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a visible spirit.
noun
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the apparition of a person living or thought to be alive, supposed to appear around the time of his death
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a ghost or any apparition
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an insubstantial copy of something
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something pale, thin, and lacking in substance, such as a column of smoke
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wraith
First recorded in 1505–15; originally Scots; origin uncertain
Explanation
If you have a vision of your grandfather just before he passes away, you have seen a wraith or a ghostly image. Wraith can also mean something thin, wispy, or ghost-like. You could call a wisp of smoke rising from a chimney a wraith or you could say that a sick aunt had been reduced to a wraith — a thin, ghostly, figure. Sometimes it's even a compliment, which shows how we idealize wraith-like fashion models. Wraith is of unknown origins, and there aren't any other words related to it.
Vocabulary lists containing wraith
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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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.
It is also alleged that the rapper was driving a Rolls-Royce Wraith while using a hand-held phone shortly after 15:30 GMT on 7 March on Addison Road, west Kensington.
From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024
Steven Wraith, an attorney representing Ayasha Adult Family Home, denied the lawsuit’s claims against the home.
From Seattle Times • May 4, 2023
Before the swearing-in ceremony and speech to Congress, Lula and Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and their wives paraded through the city in an open convertible, a 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith.
From Washington Post • Jan. 1, 2023
The Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 models will also come bundled with an AMD Wraith Cooler and will be available starting April 4th, a few ahead of the Ryzen 5800X3D.
From The Verge • Mar. 15, 2022
He was used to having his Wraith around—feeding the crows outside his window, sharpening her knives while he worked at his desk, chastising him with her Suli proverbs.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
