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
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 13 Jan. 2026
Having been burned badly by his phantom surplus in 2022, Newsom is obviously aware that a repeat would be politically poisonous.
—Dan Walters, Oc Register, 12 Jan. 2026
Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Adjective
Having been burned badly by his phantom surplus in 2022, Newsom is obviously aware that a repeat would be politically poisonous.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 13 Jan. 2026
Having been burned badly by his phantom surplus in 2022, Newsom is obviously aware that a repeat would be politically poisonous.
—Dan Walters, Oc Register, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
In this 2000 film starring Taylor Handley and Mickey Rooney, 17-year-old Pete Riley (Handley) works at the local movie theater, which is rumored to be haunted by a phantom.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom
Adjective
-
An imaginary line drawn through the stars Bellatrix in Orion and Alnitak (the lowest star in Orion's Belt), extended about twice its own length, also leads to Murzam.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
And there are no effects, there are no imaginary monsters.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The silk mousseline garments floated almost like ghosts or memories of Chanel designs past, including the famous skirt suit with its matching cardigan and Karl Lagerfeld modernisms like jeans with a tweed jacket, plus the iconic flap bag.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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Elytra Dark will serve as a transfer vehicle to bring the Blue ghost lander to the moon.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
An apparition will appear before us.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
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The image combines each planet's nightly positions during separate 2025 apparitions, assembled by astrophotographer Petr Horálek, a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This could even include being part of a role-play activity that is based on their favorite storyline, a nostalgic scene or even a fictional world.—
Ramsey Qubein,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Featuring Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen, the song finds each artist inhabiting a specific member of the landowning (fictional) McArthur family.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Despite its name, the bar operates as a globally minded cocktail destination with equal attention paid to other spirits, along with small bites and an impressive cigar selection.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
8 Jan. 2026
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What’s unique about Tasovská’s approach is that the entire film is composed of Jarcovjáková’s photographs, infusing her artistic spirit into every frame.—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Corridors are bedecked in vivid wallpaper with oversized flora and animals, real and mythical, and the hotel’s art collection that meets your eye around every corner is a go-for-broke assemblage of everything from old-world oils to ambitious mixed media and 20th-century American photography.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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Buddhist Symbolism And Pop-Culture Surprises Even the walk to the temple’s main hall, surrounded by a watery moat, is a mythical spectacle.—
Vicky Smith,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Del Col’s imagined protagonist is Pierre, a French bakery assistant who learns Hitler is his biological father.—
Rosemary Counter,
Vanity Fair,
19 Jan. 2026
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Taken together, the books on this list show narrators real and imagined grappling with some of life’s greatest challenges, and nevertheless surviving—as timely and valuable a message as readers can ask for.—
Lucy Feldman,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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