PHANTASM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does phantasm mean? 

• PHANTASM (noun)
  The noun PHANTASM has 2 senses:

1. a ghostly appearing figure

2. something existing in perception only

  Familiarity information: PHANTASM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PHANTASM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A ghostly appearing figure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

apparition; fantasm; phantasm; phantasma; phantom; specter; spectre

Context example:

we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us

Hypernyms ("phantasm" is a kind of...):

disembodied spirit; spirit (any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phantasm"):

Flying Dutchman (the captain of a phantom ship (the Flying Dutchman) who was condemned to sail against the wind until Judgment Day)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something existing in perception only

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

apparition; fantasm; phantasm; phantasma; phantom; shadow

Context example:

a ghostly apparition at midnight

Hypernyms ("phantasm" is a kind of...):

illusion; semblance (an erroneous mental representation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phantasm"):

flying saucer; UFO; unidentified flying object (an (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown; especially those considered to have extraterrestrial origins)

Flying Dutchman (a phantom ship that is said to appear in storms near the Cape of Good Hope)

ghost; shade; specter; spectre; spook; wraith (a mental representation of some haunting experience)