variants
also fantasm
1
as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
frightened by the phantasms of his own making
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in apparition
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
believed that she'd seen the phantasm of her father on the anniversary of his death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of phantasm
And sometimes the phantasms of artificial intelligence can prompt, in the prompter, genuine emotion.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2023
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
The album, produced by pop artisan Greg Kurstin (Adele, Paul McCartney), is a conceptual rumination on these apocalyptic times, from war to salvation with a sprinkle of biblical phantasm.
—Steven J. Horowitz, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for phantasm
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2023
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
The album, produced by pop artisan Greg Kurstin (Adele, Paul McCartney), is a conceptual rumination on these apocalyptic times, from war to salvation with a sprinkle of biblical phantasm.
—Steven J. Horowitz, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for phantasm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasm
Noun
-
Like the film that inspired it, the book circles intimacy, illusion, blondes and brunettes, the psychic architecture of Los Angeles.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Leaders who cling to the illusion of long-term predictability will be outmaneuvered by those who treat strategy not as a map but as a compass.—
Rupesh Dabbir,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There’s nothing in the world quite like this abbey, located on an island and rising out of the bay like a heavenly apparition.—
Chloe Arrojado,
AFAR Media,
25 July 2025
-
Mercury reaches its point of greatest eastern elongation on Friday (July 4), presenting an excellent opportunity to spot the rocky planet during its evening apparition in the post-sunset sky.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
Running the largest sports media company in the world is a dream job for Pitaro, a lifelong Yankees fan who named one of his dogs Jeter (as in Derek).—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
An original work set in the world of 1950s ping pong culture, the film tells the story of Marty Mauser (Chalamet), a young man with a dream no one respects, who goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Bok-i, the dog ghost, was the only guardian spirit.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Could this woman be the ghost of a student activist who led a sit-in at the university in the 1960s, then mysteriously disappeared?—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
But the film’s precise, funny characters and vivid, sweltering look would have meant nothing without Lee’s wise and ultimately sad vision of multicultural America as a place where good intentions and casual mistrust are as commonplace as the local pizzeria.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
-
The underlying fundamental challenges created by the countries’ deep divisions over their economic ties, the potential for conflict over Taiwan and other hotspots, and their competing visions of the international order can only be papered over for so long.—
Scott Kennedy,
Time,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Gesturing toward cinema’s roots in 19th-century phantom rides and panoramas, FELT finds a dynamic new form for the sensory experience of space and movement.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Aug. 2025
-
While phantoms of female anxiety, emotion, and pain proliferate across each timeline, Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka articulate their own budding coming-of-age achingly, exquisitely.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
21 July 2025
Noun
-
And a special shout-out goes to SNL’s Vanessa Bayer as the hilarious medium with impeccable timing and detailed delusion.—
Katie Grant,
Parents,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Marroquin, who had been jailed on assault and battery charges, struggled with mental illness and persistent delusions that someone was going to hurt his mother.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
For Leader, this hammers home the unreality of a studio without an intense marketing machine around it.—
Ryan Gaur,
IndieWire,
10 June 2025
-
The title is the latest from Naughty Dog, a studio with a reputation for games that aspire to the aesthetics and prestige of cinema, with memorable characters that behave realistically despite the unreality of video games.—
Joshua Rivera,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phantasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasm. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share