variants
also fantasm
1
as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
frightened by the phantasms of his own making
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in apparition
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
believed that she'd seen the phantasm of her father on the anniversary of his death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of phantasm
The phantasm jeers at me in this lecture theatre.
—
Tega Oghenechovwen, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
There, like enormous catcher’s mitts, the detectors lie in wait for extremely rare collisions between one of these lumbering phantasms and an ordinary atom.
—Rachel Courtland, IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2014
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
See All Example Sentences for phantasm
Tega Oghenechovwen, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
There, like enormous catcher’s mitts, the detectors lie in wait for extremely rare collisions between one of these lumbering phantasms and an ordinary atom.
—Rachel Courtland, IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2014
But eventually, the duo turned the phantasm into solid logic.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2021
Southern lawmakers baselessly claimed Black men were lynched for raping White women -- a phantasm that still haunts Black men -- and asserted laws governing lynchings were best left to the states.
—Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 27 May 2021
See All Example Sentences for phantasm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantasm
Noun
-
On far too many occasions, Watson chose deceit over candor, grasping for the illusion of business success and personal acclaim at any cost.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Yet there are filmmakers who fall prey to the illusion too.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In the writer-director’s latest horror flick, The Monkey, there is no malignant apparition, and death doesn’t lurk or stalk.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Zoe, as an apparition, is both the cause and relief to her pain.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This system must be a dream in Germany or France, or in states like Minnesota that maintain their roads to the highest EU standards.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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Getting a glimpse into Garten’s life story is fascinating, and her cheerful demeanor and can-do attitude will galvanize you to chase your dreams.—
Meg Zukin,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Some brands are diligent about paying fairly and on time, while others entirely ghost after the work is done or almost offensive offer rates.—
Kristen Bousquet,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
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Kinnell’s ensuing lines about his meal with the long-dead poet John Keats make a compelling case for conversations with ghosts.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
He is haunted by visions and night terrors involving Anne and his late mentor, Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce), who was executed by King Henry’s orders in the first season.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
23 Mar. 2025
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Detective Lee Yeon-hui (played by Shin Hyun-been of Hospital Playlist and Reborn Rich) is assigned to the case and also chases after the suspect, all the while being tormented by visions of her dead sister.—
Regina Kim,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Whatever phantom is chasing him is a persistent one, the show teasing the events that drove him away from his job repeatedly through the pilot.—
Ayan Artan,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2025
-
The sonic phantoms that have long plagued The View have finally wafted over to terrorize the set of Live With Kelly and Mark.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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That would be you, the audience, fed a royal jelly concocted of dream, fantasy, myth, popcorn, even delusion.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Many of these protagonists endure the tedium and humiliation of involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations, losing days and years to paralyzing inertia, and experiencing terrifying delusions of persecution and betrayal.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Julie Andrews sells The Sound of Music with her effervescent performance, and the wooden, awkward bits around her are, now, almost endearing — a kitschy self-own acknowledging the unreality of the whole operation.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
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Conor’s passionately absorbing, poignantly observed self-refraction from individuality into idiosyncrasy lends his very reality an air of unreality.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phantasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantasm. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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