phantom
Apparition without substance
A phantom is something that appears to exist but doesn't—a ghost, specter, or illusion.
The word emphasizes insubstantiality: a phantom pain persists after a limb is amputated, felt in tissue that's no longer there.
Phantom can modify almost any noun to suggest illusory or nonexistent status: phantom pregnancy, phantom voter, phantom limb.
As an adjective, it describes things that seem present but aren't real or detectable: a phantom menace, phantom profits that existed only on paper.
Ghostly threatening presence
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
- shadeDarkness from blocked light
revenant · poltergeist · haunting · haunted · eerie · spooky · supernatural · otherworldly
Implied identity comparison
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- loomingAppearing threateningly close
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- shadowLight blocked by object
presence · embodiment · personification · allegory · fear · dread · memory · past
Atmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- figmentImagined thing, unreal
- visionAbility to see
- delusionStubbornly held false belief
chimera · apparition · hologram · projection · optical · afterimage · trick · deception
Secret, undetected movement
- shadowyObscured by darkness
- invisibleCannot be seen
- undetectableImpossible to notice
- hiddenKept out of sight
covert · untraceable · fleeting · vanishing · intangible · elusive · mysterious · cryptic
Theatrical art combining song
- maskFace-worn concealment
- ChristineFeminine given name
- chandelierDecorative suspended light fixture
- gothicDark, mysterious aesthetic
mysterious · menacing · lurking · shadowy · tragic · obsession · lair · cape
Jointed bodily projection
- painBodily or emotional distress
- sensationPerceived stimulus or phenomenon
- amputationSurgical limb removal
- neurologyMedical science of nerves
nerve · prosthetic · syndrome · pregnancy · tumor · residual · psychosomatic · neuropathy
specter
Ghostly threatening presence
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
shade · revenant · poltergeist · haunting · haunted · eerie · spooky · supernatural · otherworldly · ethereal
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- loomingAppearing threateningly close
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
shadow · presence · embodiment · personification · allegory · fear · dread · memory · past · guilt
mirage
Atmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- figmentImagined thing, unreal
- visionAbility to see
delusion · chimera · apparition · hologram · projection · optical · afterimage · trick · deception · imaginary
stealth
Secret, undetected movement
- shadowyObscured by darkness
- invisibleCannot be seen
- undetectableImpossible to notice
hidden · covert · untraceable · fleeting · vanishing · intangible · elusive · mysterious · cryptic · obscure
opera
Theatrical art combining song
- maskFace-worn concealment
- ChristineFeminine given name
- chandelierDecorative suspended light fixture
gothic · mysterious · menacing · lurking · shadowy · tragic · obsession · lair · cape · disguise
limb
Jointed bodily projection
- painBodily or emotional distress
- sensationPerceived stimulus or phenomenon
- amputationSurgical limb removal
neurology · nerve · prosthetic · syndrome · pregnancy · tumor · residual · psychosomatic · neuropathy · referred
- supernatural beingsghost, demon, specter, banshee, werewolf
- ghostsapparitions, ghosts, apparition, specter, specters
- spiritsghost, vodka, rum, whiskey, brandy
- undeadzombie, vampire, ghost, lich, skeleton
- Ghost Huntingghost hunting, haunting, apparition, EVP, spirit box
- Hallucinationsvisual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucination, auditory hallucination, seeing things
phantomflesh and blood
One's close relatives
physical body · corporeal · physical · solid · tangible
phantomgenuine article
Authentic original item
real McCoy · authentic · genuine · verifiable · verified
- phantom painsSensations from amputated limbs
- Phantom of the OperaMasked musical theater specter
- phantom limbSensation from amputated part
- Phantom MenaceImaginary or invisible danger
- phantom pregnancyBelieved conception without fetus
- The Phantom Tollbooth
phantom power, phantasm, phantasmagoria, phantoms, phantasmal, phantasmic, phantasmagoric, phantom pain, phantomlike