Synonyms of phantom

phantom 1 of 2

adjective

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

• imaginary
• fictitious
• fictional
• mythical
• fantasied
• imagined
• imaginal
• phantasmal
• ideal
• unreal
• invented
• chimerical
• make-believe
• phantasmic
• notional
• fanciful
• legendary
• theoretical
• pretend
• fantastic
• made-up
• visionary
• hypothetical
• fabled
• fabulous
• romantic
• unlikely
• abstract
• illusory
• unbelievable
• fictive
• nonexistent
• deceptive
• hallucinatory
• unconvincing
• visualized
• phantasmagoric
• delusive
• envisioned
• conceived
• pictured
• delusional
• fabricated
• envisaged
• feigned
• concocted
• daydreamlike
• inexistent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• actual
• existing
• true
• existent
• genuine
• authentic
• physical
• factual
• realistic
• verifiable
• substantial
• solid
• convincing
• corporeal
• believable
• material
• tangible
• verified
• palpable

phantom

2 of 2

noun

ˈfan-təm 

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

• ghost
• apparition
• spirit
• wraith
• specter
• haunt
• phantasm
• poltergeist
• vampire
• shadow
• materialization
• demon
• spook
• vision
• sprite
• zombie
• familiar spirit
• visitant
• angel
• bogey
• hant
• ghoul
• shade
• double
• familiar
• genie
• doppelgänger
• daimon
• fetch
• incubus
• succubus
• jinni
• genius
• manes
• devil
• shaitan
• imp
• lemures
• lamia
• fiend
• cacodemon

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of phantom

Adjective

Congress must crack down on fraud including upcoding and phantom billing, fraudulent facility fees and medical price gouging that benefits corporations over patients. — Elijah Manley, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026

During the Cold War, quixotic Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha built some 750,000 concrete pillboxes to fend off a phantom invasion that never came. — Max Grinstein, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026

Noun

The Stygiomedusa gigantea, commonly known as the giant phantom jelly, was filmed at 250 meters below the surface. — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026

Old Town The belltower looms like a phantom. — Chen Yuhong, The Dial, 3 Feb. 2026