phantom
Noun:
- A ghost or apparition; a specter: An image or figure that appears to the senses but has no physical substance, often associated with the supernatural.
- Something elusive or unreal; a mere semblance: An illusion or a deceptive appearance of something that is not truly present or real.
Adjective:
- Illusory; not real: Having the appearance of something that does not physically exist.
- Fictitious; invented: Existing only as a concept or in the imagination.
Noun:
- The old castle was said to be haunted by a phantom.
- He chased the phantom of fame his entire life, never finding true satisfaction.
Adjective:
- The soldiers reported seeing phantom lights in the fog.
- The company created a phantom department in its organizational chart to hide the fraud.
"Phantom of the past": A persistent, haunting memory or influence from a previous time.
- He was still haunted by phantoms of the past, unable to move on from his regrets.
"Phantom presence": The strong sensation or feeling that someone or something is present when they are not.
- After her husband passed away, she often felt a phantom presence in his favorite chair.
Phantasm (n): An illusion or a product of the imagination; a phantom. Often used in more literary or philosophical contexts.
- The philosopher argued that reality might be nothing but a phantasm.
Phantasmal (adj): Of or like a phantom; spectral; unreal.
- The phantasmal figure vanished into the mist.
- Apparition: A ghostly figure; an unexpected or remarkable sight.
- Specter: A visible ghost; something widely feared as a possible unpleasant or dangerous occurrence.
- Illusion: A false idea or belief; a deceptive appearance or impression.
Phantom limb: The sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts.
- Many amputees experience phantom limb pain.
Phantom pain: Pain felt in a part of the body that has been amputated.
- The medication helped alleviate his severe phantom pain.
A phantom menace: A perceived threat that is elusive, difficult to define, or possibly not real.
- The politician warned of a phantom menace to national security, but provided no evidence.
To chase phantoms: To pursue something that is illusory or unattainable.
- Investing in that get-rich-quick scheme is like chasing phantoms.
- something apparently sensed but having no physical reality
- seemed to hear faint phantom bells
- the amputee's illusion of a phantom limb
- something existing in perception only
- a ghostly apparition at midnight
- a ghostly appearing figure
- we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us