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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of phantom
Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Visitors hear phantom footsteps echoing on staircases, doors slamming shut with violent force, and ghostly whispers drifting through the halls.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Oct. 2025
Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
When the surplus was exposed as a phantom, the state was stuck with a chronic income/outgo gap that persists.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Adjective
The folklore continues through the grounds with a phantom whistle, reports of seeing Jackson's ghost and the smell of a his cigar smoke in the garden where his wife, Rachel, is buried.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Visitors hear phantom footsteps echoing on staircases, doors slamming shut with violent force, and ghostly whispers drifting through the halls.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
Veneziale’s dad is often responsible for picking up items further afield, such as an animated phantom that had been listed on Facebook Marketplace.
—Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
When the surplus was exposed as a phantom, the state was stuck with a chronic income/outgo gap that persists.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom
Adjective
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One way to represent a complex number like a + ib is as a point on a plane, where a is the position on the x-axis (which can be thought of as the real number line) and b is the position on an imaginary y-axis.—
Daniel Garisto,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
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For example, the tests measure AI’s ability to fix inconsistencies in customer invoices Excel spreadsheets for an imaginary sales analyst role, or AI’s ability to create a full production schedule for a 60-second video shoot for an imaginary video producer.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The ghosts of a 37-0 shutout to Iowa less than a month ago still lingered — the boos that faded into silence, the homecoming crowd that emptied before the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stuck on humiliation.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Pacino stars as the enigmatic titular figure, described as part muse, part ghost of cinema past.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In a white Ford Expedition with exempt plates and red emergency lights, Farzam stopped at a checkpoint manned by the National Guard on January 17 and presented a document showing the vehicle was registered to the fictitious Santa Muerte Fire Department, prosecutors said.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
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The film is set in a version of America that, while fictitious, still feels distinctly American.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Fettel is present as a ghostly apparition.—
Will Borger,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Pulse is a ghost story, featuring two interwoven storylines about young Tokyoites who begin to see and hear strange apparitions flitting across their computer screens.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Anmore and Fort Langley — to make up the fictional community.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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SpringHill’s involvement signals a likely retention of the original’s format, with real sports stars playing themselves as clients of the fictional sports agency.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In this spirit, as with Bloomsday, there are Midwinter Day marathon readings!—
Diana Arterian,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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The 40th release, however, marks the first time the brand has ever released a tequila—an extra añejo blend put together by a leading name in the agave spirits industry.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The repetition of that mythic version has buttressed the belief that the fight for American independence was an event somehow separate from world history.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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That was a really great mythic take.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Both blend horrific imagery in the real and imagined world, however.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Yet politicians often effectively leverage fears to garner votes, and companies routinely market unnecessary products that promise protection from imagined or exaggerated harms.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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