phantasm

noun

phan·​tasm ˈfan-ˌta-zəm 

variants or less commonly fantasm

1

: a product of fantasy: such as

a

: delusive appearance : illusion

b

: ghost, specter

c

: a figment of the imagination

2

: a mental representation of a real object

phantasmal

fan-ˈtaz-məl 

adjective

phantasmic

fan-ˈtaz-mik 

adjective

Did you know?

Phantasm is from Middle English fantasme, a borrowing from Anglo-French fantasme, which itself is a derivative of Latin and Greek words—and ultimately the Greek verb phantazein, meaning "to present to the mind." The Greek verb took shape from phainein, meaning "to show," and this root appears in several English words that have to do with the way things seem or appear rather than the way they really are. Phantasmagoria and diaphanous are examples. Also from this root are words such as fanciful and fantasy, in which the imagination plays an important part.

Synonyms

• chimera
• conceit
• daydream
• delusion
• dream
• fancy
• fantasy
• phantasy
• figment
• hallucination
• illusion
• nonentity
• pipe dream
• unreality
• vision

Examples of phantasm in a Sentence

frightened by the phantasms of his own making

believed that she'd seen the phantasm of her father on the anniversary of his death

Recent Examples on the Web

In spite of its phonetics, apparently the term is not Yiddish, but a neologism declared by a French writer of comedic phantasms to be German and intended to designate an absurd, unfathomable object that can serve all kinds of purposes. —Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 June 2025

But is the gender phantasm as crucial to the global far right as Butler claims? —Katha Pollitt, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2024

Likewise, Poe’s devilish ambiguity, his production of phantasms both real and imagined, undergirds James’s own ventures into the genre. —Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 11 Oct. 2023

Those are all real things, not the phantasms of a junk-food loving fourth-grader’s fever dreams. —Emily Heil, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fantesme, fantosme, fantome, fantom "what has only a seeming reality or value, vanity, illusion, apparition, falsehood," borrowed from Anglo-French fantosme, fantasme, fantesme, fantame (continental Old French fantosme), borrowed from Latin phantasma "ghost, apparition" (Late Latin also, "mental image, figment, illusion"), borrowed from Greek phántasma "apparition, ghost, vision, dream, (in plural) phenomena, portents," derivative, with the noun suffix -mat-, -ma, corresponding to phantázein "to make visible, present to the eye or mind, (middle voice) place before one's mind, picture to oneself, imagine" — more at fantasy entry 1

Note: The Middle English word bifurcated into two phonetically distinct words in early Modern English, phantasm, which has mostly restored the form of the Latin etymon, and phantom entry 1, which more directly continues the Middle English original. According to a hypothesis in the Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, the -o- in the medieval French forms reflects *fantauma, from a presumed Ionian variant *phántagma of Greek phántasma that would have penetrated Gallo-Romance through contact with Greek speakers in Massilia (ancient Marseille). The -s- in fantosme, fantasme, etc., is an etymological restoration, as [s] would have been lost in such clusters in later medieval French.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for phantasm

• chasm
• plasm
• spasm
• bronchospasm
• cytoplasm
• ectoplasm
• neoplasm
• protoplasm
• vasospasm
• chiasm
• germplasm
• sarcasm

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Kids Definition

phantasm

noun

phan·​tasm ˈfan-ˌtaz-əm 

1

: a misleading image or appearance (as a mirage) : illusion

2

: ghost, specter

3

: a product of the imagination : fantasy

phantasmal

fan-ˈtaz-məl 

adjective

Medical Definition

phantasm

noun

phan·​tasm ˈfan-ˌtaz-əm 

1

: a figment of the imagination or disordered mind

2

: an apparition of a living or dead person