phantom

1 of 2

noun

phan·​tom ˈfan-təm 

1

a

: something apparent to sense but with no substantial existence : apparition

b

: something elusive or visionary

c

: an object of continual dread or abhorrence

the phantom of disease and want

2

: something existing in appearance only

3

: a representation of something abstract, ideal, or incorporeal

she was a phantom of delight

—William Wordsworth

phantomlike

ˈfan-təm-ˌlīk 

adverb or adjective

phantom

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of the nature of, suggesting, or being a phantom : illusory

2

: fictitious, dummy

phantom voters

Synonyms

Noun

• apparition
• bogey
• bogie
• bogy
• familiar spirit
• ghost
• hant [dialect]
• haunt [chiefly dialect]
• materialization
• phantasm
• fantasm
• poltergeist
• shade
• shadow
• specter
• spectre
• spirit
• spook
• sprite
• vision
• visitant
• wraith

Adjective

• chimerical
• chimeric
• fabulous
• fanciful
• fantasied
• fantastic
• fantastical
• fictional
• fictitious
• ideal
• imaginal
• imaginary
• imagined
• invented
• made-up
• make-believe
• mythical
• mythic
• notional
• phantasmal
• phantasmic
• pretend
• unreal
• visionary

Examples of phantom in a Sentence

Noun

The book is about the phantoms that are said to haunt the nation's cemeteries.

The crisis is merely a phantom made up by the media.

Adjective

People claim to have seen a phantom ship floating on the lake.

A number of ballots from phantom voters had to be thrown out.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Various theories that attempted to give this phantom a face have fallen apart. —Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 9 Mar. 2024

In the first week, replacement referee Gabriele Ciampi — in real life a composer who once performed at the White House — called a phantom foul on Mark Delgado that led to the midfielder’s expulsion, leaving his team shorthanded. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024

But as the animation also shows, a chilly phantom is rising from the depths and expanding eastward, threatening to replace the warm water: a truly enormous blob of cooler-than-average ocean waters. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024

Older women moved through life like phantoms, ever present but unseen. —Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024

Bruised and garrulous American phantoms who attract outsized biographical attention. —Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

Here, the biggest phantom cost is memory, which is important for helping the computer smoothly run multiple apps at the same time. —Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024

Whoopi Goldberg has paused her battle with the sonic phantoms and unknown entities haunting the set of The View, and is now taking aim at the messy noise coming from conservative conspiracy theories involving pop superstar Taylor Swift. —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2024

The phantom of recurring legal notes has haunted The View once again. —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 26 July 2023

Adjective

The bubble quickly burst but politicians had already spent many of the phantom dollars. —Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024

In the 130-day period, the researchers mapped phantom thermal sensations to nerve endings on the residual arm. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024

Its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology uses a series of sound pulses to read your living room and create up to 12 phantom speakers. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024

Reverse confusions in the cars were mere peanuts to other problems drivers had, mostly about phantom braking, which led to the death of at least one Tesla owner. —Erin Marquis / Jalopnik, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024

Not all people in the 2023 study were able to feel the phantom sensations that allow MiniTouch to function. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024

This is similar to other phantom sensations like touch, which the researchers say are experienced by roughly 80 percent of amputees. —IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2024

The small areas of skin that produce these phantom thermal sensations are different among amputees, suggesting that nerves cut off during amputation remain in various locations of the arm’s skin. —Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024

Over 130 days, the researchers closely monitored the phantom temperature sensations of a 57-year-old male patient without his hand for 20 years. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English fantesme, fantosme, fantome, fantom "what only seems to have reality or value, vanity, illusion, apparition, falsehood," borrowed from Anglo-French fantosme, fantasme — more at phantasm

Note: For the etymological relation between this word and phantasm, see the note at the latter word. The spelling with initial ph- is a restoration from the Greek source.

Adjective

Middle English fantom, from attributive use of fantosme, fantom phantom entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing phantom

• phantom limb
• phantom pregnancy

Kids Definition

phantom

1 of 2 noun

phan·​tom ˈfant-əm 

: something (as a ghost) that seems to be there but is not real : apparition

phantom

2 of 2 adjective

1

: suggesting or being a phantom

2

: existing in name only : not real : fictitious

phantom voters

Medical Definition

phantom

1 of 2 noun

phan·​tom

variants also fantom

ˈfant-əm 

1

: a model of the body or one of its parts

2

: a body of material resembling a body or bodily part in mass, composition, and dimensions and used to measure absorption of radiations

phantom

2 of 2 adjective

variants also fantom

: not caused by an anatomical lesion

phantom respiratory disorders