phantom

phan·tom

Use phantom in a sentence

A child dressed as a phantom for Halloween.

adjective

The definition of a phantom is something that seems real but does not exist.
An example of a phantom is a phantom pain in an amputated leg.

noun

Phantom is a ghost or something that seems to appear but that doesn't actually exist.
A ghost that haunts your house is an example of a phantom.

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"Phantom." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Phantom.

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Phantom. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Phantom

phantom

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

Origin of phantom

Middle English fantome, fantosme from Old French fantosme from Classical Latin phantasma: see phantasm

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

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"Phantom." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Phantom.

APA Style

Phantom. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Phantom

phantom

noun

Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or apparition.
An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion: phantoms of a disturbed mind.
Medicine A model of a human body or body part.

adjective

Resembling, characteristic of, or being a phantom: tales of a phantom ship haunting the bay.
Fictitious or nonexistent, often when intended to deceive: phantom employees on the payroll; deposits in a phantom bank account.
Believed to be real even though illusory: a phantom pregnancy.
Being a phantom limb: a phantom arm.

Origin of phantom

Middle English fantom from Old French fantosme probably from Vulgar Latin phantauma from Greek dialectal phantagma from Greek phantasma ; see phantasm .

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.