apparition

Noun

• an act of appearing or becoming visible unexpectedly
  • natives were amazed at the apparition of this white stranger
    

• something existing in perception only
  • a ghostly apparition at midnight
    

• the appearance of a ghostlike figure
  • I was recalled to the present by the apparition of a frightening specter
    

• a ghostly appearing figure
  • we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  phantom , phantasm , phantasma , fantasm , shadow , specter , spectre