apparition Hear it!

apparition Definition

ap·pa·ri·tion (ap′ə ris̸h′ən)

noun

  1. anything that appears unexpectedly or in an extraordinary way; esp., a strange figure appearing suddenly and thought to be a ghost
  2. the act of appearing or becoming visible

Etymology: ME apparicioun < OFr apparition < ML apparitio, epiphany, appearance (in L, attendance, service) < apparere, appear

apparition Related Forms
ap′·pa·ri′·tional adjective
apparition Synonyms

apparition

n.

phantom, specter, spirit; see ghost 1.

apparition Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • witness: A local breeder of the Glasgow Dingo who wished to remain anonymous witnessed the apparitions on New Year's Eve.
  • see: During the party, we saw a ghostly apparition, roughly the height of Maureen.
  • report: Converted to an inn nearly 50 years ago, guests have been reporting ghostly apparitions for the past 15 years.
  • say: But I dunno about restored, ' said the apparition; ' blow THAT!
  • describe: H.P.B. , herself a clairvoyant, describes the apparitions as shells, as mere portraits.
  • include: These included apparitions, cold spots and sense of presence experiences in a ground floor corridor area.

Converse of subject

  • haunt: Which theater is haunted by the apparition of a nun?

Adjective modifier

  • ghostly: They included a shot of the ghostly apparition, which appears to be checking the cellar with a lamp.
  • strange: Maybe this strange apparition brought some kind of hope.
  • such: Evidently, therefore, the narrator believed in the possibility of such apparitions in times of special stress.
  • first: The first apparition which appears to thee is the image of the master ' .
  • other: The grave yard scene showed skeletons jumping out of the graves and all kinds of other frightening apparitions.
  • same: Reception Corridor area The same apparition of a little boy was seen by Jenny [ Manager ] in this area.

Modifies a noun

  • standing: Mrs. Ellen Cartwright of Cobham told me that he saw the apparition standing near the portrait.
  • hill: So after an early dinner we headed up to Apparition hill and walked up to Blue Cross.

Noun used with modifier

  • crisis: There are also crisis apparitions that link to a person.

Preposition: of

  • woman: Floating down the stairway was the apparition of an old woman wearing a pale blue dress and what appeared to be a head veil.
  • man: An apparition of a young man has also been seen who melted away.
  • nun: Which theater is haunted by the apparition of a nun?
  • lady: Was said to have seen the apparition of a lady at the window of the blue room on the night of the fire.
apparition Quotes

The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.

—Pound, Ezra Loomis

Ere Babylon was dust, The Magus Zoroaster, my dead child, Met his own image walking in the garden, That apparition, sole of men, he saw.

—Shelley, Percy Bysshe

It happened one day, about noon, going towards my boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a man's naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to be seen in the sand.I stood like one thunderstruck, or as if I had seen an apparition.

—Defoe, Daniel

She was a Phantom of delight When first she gleamed upon my sight; A lovelyapparition sent To be a moment's ornament.

—Wordsworth,William

The varnishers and veneerers have been busily converting Abe into a plaster saint†to pump all his human weaknesses out of him, and so leave him a mere moral apparition, a sort of amalgam of John Wesley and the Holy Ghost.

—Mencken, H(enry) L(ouis)