as in ghost
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
we thought a poltergeist was knocking dishes off the shelves, but it turned out to just be vibrations from passing trains
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poltergeist
Enraged, the spirit goes upstairs to his room and begins to cause poltergeist activity like breaking shelves, throwing objects and tearing down posters.
—
Keith Langston, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
The vocals are ghastly, like poltergeists speaking from the beyond, trying to convey some hazy message the mortals can’t decipher.
—Aaron Gilbreath, SPIN, 31 Dec. 2024
Does a person accept, say, poltergeists, but not extrasensory perception?
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
The poltergeist feature from director Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) is set to begin streaming via Max on March 13.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for poltergeist
Keith Langston, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
The vocals are ghastly, like poltergeists speaking from the beyond, trying to convey some hazy message the mortals can’t decipher.
—Aaron Gilbreath, SPIN, 31 Dec. 2024
Does a person accept, say, poltergeists, but not extrasensory perception?
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
The poltergeist feature from director Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) is set to begin streaming via Max on March 13.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for poltergeist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poltergeist
Noun
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Her mother stalked the perimeter of the grave, faced with a philosophical question: how to take pictures of the ass of a ghost.—
Patricia Lockwood,
New Yorker,
18 May 2025
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One of my first ideas was wondering how a ghost could exist in contemporary society.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 May 2025
Noun
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As the music plays, apparitions of shamans and African tribal dancers begin to mingle with the crowd.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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But Evan Mobley fills those margins with his apparitions of length.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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This workaround defeats the spirit of the deferral rules.—
Andre Pennington,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War … The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Ray is an enigma and a mystery, a man who zips into town on a motorbike like a phantom and could just as easily evaporate at any minute.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
18 May 2025
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Season 4 continued to expand the paranormal world of Ghosts, with the funny phantoms developing new powers, the introduction of even more specters roaming the Woodstone grounds — and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), finally able to see the ghosts his wife, Sam (Rose McIver) is always speaking with.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poltergeist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poltergeist. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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