ghost

¹ghost

noun \ˈgōst\

Definition of GHOST

1

: the seat of life or intelligence : soul <give up the ghost>

2

: a disembodied soul; especially : the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness

3

: spirit, demon

4

a : a faint shadowy trace <a ghost of a smile>

b : the least bit <not a ghost of a chance>

5

: a false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection

6

: one who ghostwrites

7

: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin

— ghost·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— ghosty \ˈgō-stē\ adjective

Examples of GHOST

1. a house haunted by ghosts
2. <looked for ghosts in the graveyard on Halloween>

Origin of GHOST

Middle English gost, gast, from Old English gāst; akin to Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit heḍa anger

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to GHOST

Synonyms

apparition, bogey (also bogie or bogy), familiar spirit, hant [dialect], haunt [chiefly dialect], materialization, phantasm (also fantasm), phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, specter (or spectre), spirit, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith

Related Words

angel, daimon, familiar, genie, genius, jinni (or jinn also djinni or djinn), shaitan; double, doppelgänger (or doppelganger), fetch; lemures, manes; incubus, lamia, succubus, vampire, zombie (also zombi); cacodemon, demon (or daemon), devil, fiend, ghoul, imp

Near Antonyms

angel

Other Occult Terms

augury, censor, invocation, lucidity, metempsychosis, mojo, numinous, preternatural, weird, wraith

Rhymes with GHOST

boast, coast, host, most, oast, post, roast, toast

²ghost

verb

Definition of GHOST

transitive verb

1

: to haunt like a ghost

2

: ghostwrite

intransitive verb

1

a : to move silently like a ghost

b : to sail quietly in light winds

2

: ghostwrite

Examples of GHOST

1. She ghosted the mayor's autobiography.

First Known Use of GHOST

1606

ghost

noun \ˈgōst\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of GHOST

: a structure (as a cell or tissue) that does not stain normally because of degenerative changes; specifically : a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin

ghost

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Soul or specter of a deceased person. Belief in ghosts has been common since ancient times and is reflected in folklore around the world. It is based on the notion that the spirit is separable from the body and can continue its existence after the death of the body. Ghosts are believed to inhabit the netherworld and to be capable of returning to the world of the living, appearing as living beings or in a nebulous likeness of the deceased. They are thought to be especially likely to haunt places or people connected with some strong emotion of their past life, such as fear, remorse, or the terror of a violent death. The traditional visual manifestations of haunting include ghostly apparitions, the movement of objects, or the appearance of strange lights; auditory signs include disembodied laughter and screams, knocking, or footsteps.