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phantom definition

phan·tom (fan′təm)

noun

  1. something that seems to appear to the sight but has no physical existence; apparition; vision; specter
  2. something feared or dreaded
  3. something that exists only in the mind; illusion
  4. a person or thing that is something in appearance but not in fact a phantom of a leader
  5. any mental image or representation the phantoms of things past

Etymology: ME fantome, fantosme < OFr fantosme < L phantasma: see phantasm

adjective

of, like, or constituting a phantom; not really existing; illusory

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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