apparition

noun ap·pa·ri·tion \ ˌa-pə-ˈri-shən \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

Definition of apparition

1 a : an unusual or unexpected sight : phenomenon

strange apparitions in the sky

b : a ghostly figure

reported seeing ghostly apparitions in the old house

2 : the act of becoming visible : appearance

the apparition of sunlight through the window

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apparitional

play \-ˈrish-nəl, -ˈri-shə-nᵊl\ adjective

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Examples of apparition in a Sentence

an eccentric who claimed to have photographed an apparition in her very own house

Recent Examples of apparition from the Web

And, in a plot device necessary to keep Clay’s late crush around in the present-day narrative to ground the series, the apparition of Hannah comes to haunt Clay for 13 episodes.

— refinery29.com, "13 Reasons Why Review: Season 2 Is Even Better Than The Last One," 16 May 2018
When his friend reveals an affair with Maggie, apparitions come streaming out of the haunted attic of Zeke’s New Man edifice of irony and intellect.

— michael friedrich, The New Republic, "Men and Apparitions Dissects A Male Feminist’s Crisis," 9 Apr. 2018
Unafraid and excited, the girl called for her nanny to come see, but the apparition vanished.

— kate siber, Outside Online, "The Bohemian Heiress Who Shattered 19th-Century Taboos," 24 Apr. 2018
In the rolling hills of South Dakota, a mass of clouds moved in like apparitions reaching out and touching the earth.

— liesl bradner, latimes.com, "'The Big Cloud,' one photographer's obsession with the drama in our skies," 11 Apr. 2018
There’s no combat action in Mr. Boorman’s film, only such apparitions as barrage balloons floating in the sky and a Luftwaffe pilot parachuting into a suburban garden.

— joe morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Journey’s End’ Review: A Small Beauty About the Great War," 15 Mar. 2018
The sculpture is forty tons of sugar molded into a ghostly white apparition, part mammy, part sphinx.

— Longreads, "Kara Walker’s Subtlety," 28 Feb. 2018
The shrine in southern France where apparitions of Mary, Jesus’ mother, reportedly appeared 160 years ago to a 14-year-old girl is considered a site of miraculous cures.

— elaine ganley, The Seattle Times, "Bishop declares nun’s recovery as 70th Lourdes miracle," 11 Feb. 2018
In every instance of reporting UFOs, observers have called on their personal experiences and prevailing knowledge of world events to make sense of these nebulous apparitions.

— greg eghigian, Smithsonian, "How UFO Reports Change With the Technology of the Times," 2 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apparition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of apparition

Middle English apparicion, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French appariciun "appearance," borrowed from Medieval Latin appāritiōn-, appāritiō "appearance, supernatural manifestation, Epiphany," going back to Late Latin, "appearance" (Latin, "service, attendance"), from Latin appāri-, variant stem of appārēre "to be visible, be evident, attend, serve" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at appear

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year