PHANTASM Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

phantasm

noun

ˈfan-ˌta-zəm

variants also fantasm

Definition of phantasm

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

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 No one had meant more to Miami during the past three years, devoting themselves to painstakingly lifting a program plump with the phantasm of a reign long past. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 20 Jan. 2026 In times of increasing cynicism and apathy in the zeitgeist, this phantasm extravaganza — at once humorously deadpan in its playful tableaus and poignantly sincere at its emotional core — feels like a breath of fresh air. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 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 See All Example Sentences for phantasm

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasm

Noun

The key to this illusion is a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity, general relativity, which also first predicted the existence of gravitational waves.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Beyond The Leadership Balance Beam The balancing beam is an unnecessary illusion.

— Michael Corvini, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of illusion

Noun

For evening observers, this apparition has been more frustrating than triumphant, with Venus lingering low in the glow of twilight instead of climbing into a commanding position.

— Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
One minute, the stubble field in front of his stand had been empty, and then suddenly, like an apparition, a whitetail buck had appeared.

— Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of apparition

Noun

Each vignette of time reveals how time, our upbringing, and even our individual dreams shape the path of our lives and who ultimately ends up beside us for the ride.

— Emmalee Reed, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
In childhood, in adulthood, in her old age, Evans was besotted by dreams, turbulent, awesome, pictorial dreams.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of dream

Noun

During a fraught encounter between Hamlet and the ghost of his father, an actor freezes before exiting entirely.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
Liam sweeps in like the ghost of Christmas Present and suddenly everyone — everyone being Noel — starts to wonder if this just might work after all.

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of ghost

Noun

The next day, Luwi had a similar daydream, but this time the disapproving patriarch was Gajdusek.

— Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.

— Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 June 2026

Definition of daydream

Noun

Fadal brought up her own phantom smells during a recent podcast conversation with Andrea Donsky, a nutritionist who’s written about and conducted research on this symptom.

— Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 26 Aug. 2026
Both phantoms were packed with thousands of dosimeters, tracking radiation dose over specific phases of the flight rather than just a cumulative total.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026