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
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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
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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
-
The illusion is caused by the moon being seen close to the horizon, where trees and buildings give the human brain context.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
Call it pixie dust, projection, illusion, artifice — who really cares?—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
11 July 2025
Noun
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If the humor clicks with you, there’s joy to be had in accidentally setting yourself on fire over and over again while being chased by a Slenderman-like apparition made of Post-Its.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
19 June 2025
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Venus reaches its point of greatest western elongation on June 1, at which time the dazzling 'morning star' will be at its most distant point from the sun in Earth's sky during its pre-dawn apparition.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
31 May 2025
Noun
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The onetime dream of widespread debt forgiveness has been extinguished, and a five-year reprieve for people who had defaulted on student loans expired in May of this year.—
Brit Morse,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
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With the help of a starlet named Vera, her dream of meeting him slowly takes shape.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
8 July 2025
Noun
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But what do the locals actually think of their vampire-like namesake, who is believed to be the vengeful ghost of a woman who died in pregnancy or childbirth? To find out, researcher Timo Duile headed to Pontianak for conversations with ethnic Malay Muslim and Dayak Christian residents.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
5 July 2025
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The ghosts of late 1950s-early 1960s country favorites Maybelle Carter and Patsy Cline share space with pop-soul icons The Shirelles.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Noun
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To all my babies that are listening to this one, big up yourself always because faith and hard work toward your vision will eventually place your dreams at your feet.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
11 July 2025
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American Christianity must reclaim this vision, before the hell-bent politics of evangelicalism create hell on Earth.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Rubin hopes to tally these same sorts of deep-space particles, the kind that all of Earth is constantly microdosing, phantom starlight from the farthest reaches of the universe.—
Michael Jones McKean,
The Atlantic,
23 June 2025
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At least until quarter to 2, when Lindsay Lohan whorls through the door like a raspy chaos phantom.—
Jeff Weiss,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2025
Noun
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The private and personalized nature of AI use makes its mental health impact difficult to track, but the evidence of potential harms is mounting, from professional apathy to attachments to new forms of delusion.—
Parmy Olson,
Mercury News,
12 July 2025
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At his trial, Fish's children described a chaotic home life marked by erratic behavior, religious delusions and violence.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
12 July 2025
Noun
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For Leader, this hammers home the unreality of a studio without an intense marketing machine around it.—
Ryan Gaur,
IndieWire,
10 June 2025
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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 18 Jul. 2025.
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