variants
also fantasms
1
as in illusions
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 apparitions
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasms
Noun
-
Rustin and Epstein—who recently opened an intimate second space in London for Edel Assanti—were under no illusions.—
George Nelson,
ARTnews.com,
10 June 2026 -
This lifelong Black Catholic bears no illusions about the sins of my church.—
Laura Washington,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
The museum site has been a paranormal hotbed for decades, with sightings of apparitions, security camera footage capturing items flying off shelves, as well as experiences from staff members and visitors.—
Gregory Harutunian,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
There certainly seem to be apparitions in this music, some presence apart from the four musicians and the throngs of fans, which is intensified by the visceral collision of so many sounds.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
On Monday afternoon, the AP projected that Raman would advance to the November general election, setting up a contest between two Democrats with sharply different visions for the city.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
10 June 2026
-
Fresh off the stunning success of Jaws, Spielberg began working on an alien epic about an average Joe (played by Richard Dreyfuss) who begins to see unexplained lights in the sky and has visions of a mysterious tower.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
The railroad got cut to maximize walking spaces while the Haunted Mansion was removed out of respect for Chinese cultural sensitivities regarding death and spirits.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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For more than 48 hours, captain Lillian Zulu had been trying to keep her squad's spirits high despite mounting obstacles.—
Ryan Lenora Brown,
NPR,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
For one, the inspiring and bonding experience of Cowgirl Up—a week where women from across the globe come to live out their dreams of an iconic ranch stay—and not only release, but exercise their inner cowboy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 June 2026
-
These memories of his brief, sad human life are uneasy dreams that Lestat wakes from on his tour bus as the sun sets over the road to Toledo.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
The ghosts of Belo Horizonte However, no moment symbolizes Brazilian soccer’s decline more than the 90 minutes of chaos at Belo Horizonte’s Mineirão stadium when the host nation took on Die Mannschaft in the World Cup semifinals on July 8, 2014.—
Emile Nuh,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
The question is, can German manager Thomas Tuchel, who coached Chelsea to a Champions League crown, lead England past the ghosts of 40 years of World Cup heartbreak and the disappointment of losing the last two European Championship finals?—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
These fantasies can all skew toward exclusionary extremism on the left and the right.—
Eliza Goodpasture,
ARTnews.com,
3 June 2026
-
In those pages, Fiedler dared to argue that many of America’s boyish and putatively innocent classics are in fact fantasies of interracial, homosexual romance.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The floating lids of storage tanks throw shadows that show how full each tank is.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
-
Caffeine and algae extract target puffiness and dullness, making dark spots and undereye shadows less pronounced over time.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Allure,
13 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Phantasms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasms. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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