phantom 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of phantomnext
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination the company claimed that the only hazards involving its product were the phantom dangers created by consumer groups

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phantom

2 of 2

noun

ˈfan-təm How to pronounce phantom (audio)
as in ghost
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people Halloween is supposed to be a time when phantoms return to walk among us

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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 phantom
Adjective
As Zai’s doubts about the wedding fester, scratches begin to appear on her legs, apparently the work of the phantom bride, while the menacing of this spirit produces blemishes on her skin. — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026 In Minnesota, autism therapy spending skyrocketed by 50,000% in six years, driven in large part by fraudulent entities now facing federal indictments for tens of millions in phantom billing. — Richard Popiel, Boston Herald, 30 Aug. 2026
Noun
On the 1994 comeback album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, Sparks imagined Liberace, who died in 1987, making his own comeback in the afterlife, adored again as a phantom haunting the Earth. — Al Shipley, SPIN, 31 July 2026 Left behind are her great-grandmother’s haunting journals detailing the story of her own phantom, and subsequently, her brutal murder. — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 25 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for phantom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom
  1. imaginary
  2. ghost
  3. fictitious
  4. apparition
  5. fictional
  6. spirit
  7. mythical
  8. imagined
Adjective
  • The wealth tax opponents have applied the age-old technique of mustering superficially plausible, but largely imaginary, consequences of passage.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The genre gave him considerably more freedom to invent architectural settings, mixing classical ruins, waterways, and figures into elaborate imaginary landscapes.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of imaginary
Noun
  • From glittering ghosts, ghastly goblins and wicked witches to wily warlocks, fashion can inspire any Halloween transformation.
    — Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of ghost
Adjective
  • The series will be set in a fictitious Barneys in Beverly Hills, not New York, and the real founding family of the retailer, the Pressman family, has no involvement, the spokesperson said.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Dempsey appeared in Disney’s fantasy romance Enchanted (2007) as Robert Philip, a New York divorce lawyer whose orderly life is disrupted by the arrival of a fairy-tale princess (played by Amy Adams) from the fictitious land of Andalasia.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of fictitious
Noun
  • The spacecraft encounters transformed a disappointing naked-eye apparition into a landmark scientific campaign.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • One is Eye Witness (1987), a wintry landscape of two figures who seem to look away from an apparition of sorts; a skyscraper in the distance bears a resemblance to the Empire State Building.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of apparition
Adjective
  • Gascón will play Manuela, a teacher in an elite school, and Ituño the the role of Evita, the personal secretary to the prime minister of the series’ fictional country.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The series takes place during the fictional two-term Democratic administration of President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of fictional
Noun
  • After all, many a good cause got its start from a spirit of noblesse oblige.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • But the ending hints at the possibility that the spirit of Jason may have leapt into the youngster.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of spirit
Adjective
  • Waller is one of the NFL’s few mythical figures — one whose story precedes his stats, whose name supersedes his acclaim.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
  • With the season’s final two episodes not provided to critics, there’s no way to say yet whether The Lowdown achieves that mythical outcome of all mystery seasons, the Finale That Pulls It All Together.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mythical
Adjective
  • The second scenario in the speculative design research is built around an imagined service called Paren’t, which proposes to preserve a parent’s AI-powered postmortem presence for their child.
    — Lissa Soep, Vox, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Drawn to the tactile and familiar qualities of paper, Teo uses playful forms and visual metaphors to transform everyday subjects and construct whimsical, imagined worlds.
    — New York Times Games, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of imagined

Browse Nearby Words

phantasms
phantom
phantoms
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Cite this Entry

“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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