poltergeists

noun

plural of poltergeist
as in spirits
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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poltergeists There are newspaper clippings, from the 1950s through to the 2000s, concerning ghost sightings, or reports of poltergeists in market towns or children who appear to possess uncanny extrasensory powers. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poltergeists
  1. spirits
  2. ghosts
  3. apparitions
Noun
  • Vallow Daybell holds doomsday religious beliefs and has claimed that people in her life were possessed by evil spirits.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • This can be especially uncomfortable when the prevailing narrative holds its own special significance, but pondering such complexities strengthens our minds and our spirits.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of spirits
Noun
  • Before it was demolished in the early 1800s, his crumbling mansion was said to be haunted by ghosts and strange occurrences.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • These books span from a far-future with flicker ghosts to the present transformed by a magical RPG to a medieval realm where a scholar/harlot/healer rides for women’s rights.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of ghosts
Noun
  • Title granted to the Virgin Mary in honor of her apparitions to three shepherd children (Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto and Venerable Lucia dos Santos) in Fátima, Portugal, in 1917.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The location was a former sugarcane plantation notorious for cruelty, and accounts of apparitions in the water are a reminder of this history.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of apparitions

Browse Nearby Words

poltergeist
poltergeists
poltroon
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Cite this Entry

“Poltergeists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poltergeists. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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