variants
also fantasm
1
as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
frightened by the phantasms of his own making
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in apparition
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
believed that she'd seen the phantasm of her father on the anniversary of his death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of phantasm
The phantasm jeers at me in this lecture theatre.
—
Tega Oghenechovwen, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
There, like enormous catcher’s mitts, the detectors lie in wait for extremely rare collisions between one of these lumbering phantasms and an ordinary atom.
—Rachel Courtland, IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2014
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for phantasm 
Tega Oghenechovwen, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
There, like enormous catcher’s mitts, the detectors lie in wait for extremely rare collisions between one of these lumbering phantasms and an ordinary atom.
—Rachel Courtland, IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2014
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for phantasm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasm
Noun
-
This transit also encourages us to confront illusions and emotional blockages while cultivating a deeper connection with our intuition and creativity.Valerie Mesa, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Given that environment, Trump advisers aren’t under any illusions.Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
The lore goes that multiple apparitions haunt the area, including 16-year-old Frank Denvin, who fell head-first from a water slide into an empty cement tank in 1896, and two brothers who remain drawn to the dangerous currents.Shawna Chen, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024
-
Just when Americans had all but forgotten about the senescent apparition haunting the Oval Office, Joe Biden wanders aimlessly in from the wings to remind the voting public of its resolve to usher him out of public life forever.Noah Rothman, National Review, 23 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images file The result is an arena with ambitions as lofty as the franchise’s dreams of winning a first NBA championship.Andrew Greif, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024
-
Mandira and Mallika trade barbs or giggle together maniacally, seemingly at random, or it’s all revealed to be a dream.Anupama Chopra, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
According to Taiwanese rural folklore, figures spotted in yellow coats in the mountainous forests are not human, but ghosts who seek to lead the living astray.Patrick Frater, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
-
That night, Elizabeth’s ghost possesses Jill to speak to Jack.Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Standing on the ground with nothing blocking our vision, our eyes can see about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of the horizon.Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2024
-
Jeff’s vision for the New Era game seems to be to dilute the opportunity for strategy and politics as much as possible and replace it with a weeklong bender at Foxwoods that comes with a voucher for unlimited pigs in a blanket.Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Gloria and Ruby arrive soon enough, dragging husbands and humdrum lives from elsewhere in Britain, but Joan is the real phantom — no one in the family has seen her for twenty years.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
-
Mary Holland is joining the cast as Patience, the ghost of an ultra-judgmental Puritan woman abandoned by gay Revolutionary War phantom Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones).Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Michelle Nijhuis Life in the Ruins Two new books consider the delusion of the human quest to be free from the constraints of nature.The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 1 Nov. 2024
-
Is this supernatural, paranormal, evil — or some kind of mass delusion?Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Yes, the unreality of Penelope’s fable-like frequency can be discombobulating; seasoned outdoors enthusiasts and Alone heads will probably pull their hair out at the lack of realistic detail.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
-
Some kinds of hallucination, various psychedelic hallucinations among them, combine a sense of unreality with perceptual vividness, as does lucid dreaming.Anil K. Seth, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2019
Thesaurus Entries Near phantasm
Cite this Entry
“Phantasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasm. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share