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
Relevance
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
Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
These phantom costs drive up annual premiums.
—Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2026
Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025
Gives himself entirely to the race, shoots like a phantom up through the opening and then stands panting in the garret, completely motionless, while his eyes become accustomed to the change of light.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Adjective
Scientists documented a rare giant phantom jellyfish, whose arms can reach up to 10 meters (33 feet) — about the size of a school bus.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
These phantom costs drive up annual premiums.
—Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2026
Noun
Investigators said the resident was experiencing excruciating pain from a hernia, phantom leg syndrome and nerve damage from diabetes.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025
Gives himself entirely to the race, shoots like a phantom up through the opening and then stands panting in the garret, completely motionless, while his eyes become accustomed to the change of light.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom
Adjective
-
Bartle replied that the two Kansas Cities were really one big city, separated only by an imaginary state line.—
Elijah Winkler,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2026
-
In the Williams-Paisley household, even an imaginary man can cause a marital kerfuffle.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That’s news to the ghost of President Lyndon Johnson and the still-communist capital of Hanoi.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Until that happens, the ghost bikes will remain — stark, silent reminders of lives cut short and a call for safer streets.—
Alexa Liacko,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Increasingly, human resources departments noticed that applicants used the résumé to tell white lies, and even bigger fibs, listing fictitious degrees, fake promotions and other embellishments.—
Stephen Mihm,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Acosta’s bright shapes could be seen as apparitions of a sort.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
-
For example, the apparition of his first wife, Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis), appeared a handful times in season five.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The two bonded over Crane’s adoration of the 1930s fictional detective Nero Wolfe and the formative subject of their fathers.—
Annie Vainshtein,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
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Getting cleared of a gruesome crime has boosted his social cache in his upper-class neighborhood of Westmont Village, a fictional New York suburb.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Of course, there was also John Ashbery, a presiding spirit in his body of work.—
Giles Harvey,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
For travelers with an adventurous spirit, Costa Rica’s South Pacific is a dream come true.—
Meghan Palmer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In the immediate wake of Adebayo scoring 83 — second in NBA history only to Wilt Chamberlain’s mythical 100 — in a 150-129 blowout victory, Wizards coach Brian Keefe questioned the means to that end.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
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Per the new show’s official logline, in this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The title track is simply a recitation of imagined Spotify playlists, and once the joke lands we’re not left with much.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The campaign, which started in 2024, is part of the zoo's overall goal to fund a world-class aquarium, a larger education center and a re-imagined butterfly garden at the Great Plains Zoo campus.—
Shelly Conlon,
Sioux Falls Argus Leader,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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