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If you see your own double, you're in trouble, at least if you believe old superstitions. The belief that a ghostly twin's appearance portends death is one common to many cultures. In German folklore, such an apparition is called a Doppelgänger (literally, "double goer"); in Scottish lore, they are wraiths. The exact origin of the word wraith is misty, however, and etymologists can only trace it back to the early 16th century—in particular to a 1513 translation of Virgil's Aeneid by Gavin Douglas (the Scotsman used wraith to name apparitions of both the dead and the living). In current English, wraith has taken on additional, less spooky, meanings; it now often suggests a shadowy—but not necessarily scary—lack of substance.
Examples of wraith in a Sentence
Lauren Coates, Variety, 14 Sep. 2025
In the footage, Geralt approaches the domain of a wraith and battles the skeletal specter, culminating in a heart-ripping moment.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
In the video above, Geralt goes head-to-spectral-head with a wraith.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 Sep. 2025
Chen is the wraith-like heart of this story, but her character strains belief even in a shaky hand of a movie that operates with all the internal logic of a gambling addiction.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wraith
Cite this Entry
“Wraith.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wraith. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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