apparition

ap·pa·ri·tion | \ ˌa-pə-ˈri-shən

How to pronounce apparition (audio)

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Definition of apparition

1a : 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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Examples of apparition in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web Broadway audiences have to accept watching humans in costumes; cinematic audiences demand (or are given) technological apparitions. — Rumaan Alam, The New Republic, "Cats Got Your Tongue," 24 Dec. 2019 The orphan sounded the alarm as soon as the apparition materialized, just as the kahuna had instructed. — Alia Wong, The Atlantic, "How to Save a Dying Language," 9 Dec. 2019 The archbishop didn't believe Diego's story about the woman's apparition and refused his request. — Laura Rodríguez, chicagotribune.com, "Why 200,000 people travel each December on foot, by horse and even semitruck to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines," 11 Dec. 2019 These apparitions float above and alongside an empty, throne-like rattan chair similar to the one in which former Black Panther Huey P. Newton famously posed in 1968. — Mary Carole Mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "BMA exhibit of black abstract artists explores what’s real and what only appears to be real," 15 Nov. 2019 This strange apparition happens again just as Mercury becomes engulfed by the sun’s disk. — Andrew Fazekas, National Geographic, "See Mercury glide across the sun in rare sky show," 8 Nov. 2019 Walls drip blood; daggers rain from a ceiling; an apparition speaks. — Los Angeles Times, "The walls bleed in this immersive, Halloween-season ‘Macbeth’," 11 Oct. 2019 At times Sklar seemed like an apparition sent to claim Collins before Collins makes a Great American Songbook Record. — Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Phil Collins: not dead, yet, at Toyota Center," 24 Sep. 2019 My father looked over the banister, and coming up the stairs was sort of like the apparition of a man who appeared to be like a sea captain, or a sailor type of guy. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jenny Slate has learned a lot of things, but the art of survival, of self care, has reshaped what she does," 7 Nov. 2019

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.

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Dictionary Entries near apparition

apparent volume

apparent weight

appassionatamente

Statistics for apparition

Last Updated

14 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Apparition.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apparition. Accessed 24 January 2020.

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More Definitions for apparition

apparition

noun

English Language Learners Definition of apparition

formal : a ghost or spirit of a dead person

See the full definition for apparition in the English Language Learners Dictionary

apparition

ap·pa·ri·tion | \ ˌa-pə-ˈri-shən

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Kids Definition of apparition

2 : an unusual or unexpected sight What it was, whether bear or man … the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.— Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

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