as in apparitions
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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Recent Examples of phantoms
Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.
—
Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
Just in time for Halloween, the sonic phantoms that have long plagued the ladies of The View have seemingly possessed inanimate objects over on the Live With Kelly and Mark set.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Because contemporary phantoms of Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, and Rolex are expertly constructed to entice even the most discerning eye, provenance is crucial.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Science and magic, love, humour and phantoms.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
Radlmaier‘s cast of characters also includes an older Asian German who offers tours of his personal highlights of the region rather than the top sights featured in guidebooks, a woman urging others to guess the name of her dog, nude hikers, possible ghosts or phantoms, and more.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
Just in time for Halloween, the sonic phantoms that have long plagued the ladies of The View have seemingly possessed inanimate objects over on the Live With Kelly and Mark set.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Because contemporary phantoms of Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, and Rolex are expertly constructed to entice even the most discerning eye, provenance is crucial.
—Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Science and magic, love, humour and phantoms.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
Radlmaier‘s cast of characters also includes an older Asian German who offers tours of his personal highlights of the region rather than the top sights featured in guidebooks, a woman urging others to guess the name of her dog, nude hikers, possible ghosts or phantoms, and more.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantoms
Noun
-
The museum site has been a paranormal hotbed for decades, with sightings of apparitions, security camera footage capturing items flying off shelves, as well as experiences from staff members and visitors.—
Gregory Harutunian,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
There certainly seem to be apparitions in this music, some presence apart from the four musicians and the throngs of fans, which is intensified by the visceral collision of so many sounds.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The judging panels awarded Silver, Gold, and, for the standouts, Master medals to spirits that meet a very high benchmark for balance, purity, and category character.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
This new rye whiskey started its life in Illinois, specifically at Chicago craft distillery Koval, which makes some very… interesting spirits (the Koopers trained there as distillers).—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The seven empty chairs in the front row of the audience at the American Poetry Museum had been reserved all along for the ghosts, a space saved for voices not yet present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
No more chasing ghosts who never had the budget anyway.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
As the players linked arms as one by one — five of them were brave enough to take on the enormous pressure of these penalties — in the shadows was the 2-1 defeat by Barcelona in their only other Champions League final twenty years ago.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
Pérez daring anyone in the shadows to step forward.—
Sam Leveridge,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phantoms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantoms. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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