apparition

noun

ap·​pa·​ri·​tion ˌa-pə-ˈri-shən 

1

a

: an unusual or unexpected sight : phenomenon

strange apparitions in the sky

b

: a ghostly figure

reported seeing ghostly apparitions in the old house

2

: the act of becoming visible : appearance

the apparition of sunlight through the window

apparitional

ˌa-pə-ˈri-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• bogey
• bogie
• bogy
• familiar spirit
• ghost
• hant [dialect]
• haunt [chiefly dialect]
• materialization
• phantasm
• fantasm
• phantom
• poltergeist
• shade
• shadow
• specter
• spectre
• spirit
• spook
• sprite
• vision
• visitant
• wraith

Examples of apparition in a Sentence

an eccentric who claimed to have photographed an apparition in her very own house

Recent Examples on the Web

More than five million visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe near the site of her apparition in the days ahead of her feast day in 2023, according to estimates shared by the Associated Press. —Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 12 Oct. 2024

Marilyn Monroe’s apparition has been seen at the Roosevelt in Hollywood; Civil War soldiers have been spotted at the Marshall House in Savannah, Georgia. —Brooke Bobb, Vogue, 5 Oct. 2024

But the sequel is better: an all-killer, no-filler midnight-movie anthology whose four vignettes unleash a funhouse’s worth of hostile apparitions, flesh-eating zombies, and invading extraterrestrials. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 30 July 2024

The lore goes that multiple apparitions haunt the area, including 16-year-old Frank Denvin, who fell head-first from a water slide into an empty cement tank in 1896, and two brothers who remain drawn to the dangerous currents. —Shawna Chen, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English apparicion, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French appariciun "appearance," borrowed from Medieval Latin appāritiōn-, appāritiō "appearance, supernatural manifestation, Epiphany," going back to Late Latin, "appearance" (Latin, "service, attendance"), from Latin appāri-, variant stem of appārēre "to be visible, be evident, attend, serve" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at appear

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

apparition

noun

ap·​pa·​ri·​tion ˌap-ə-ˈrish-ən 

1

: an unusual or unexpected sight

2

: ghost