as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
the company claimed that the only hazards involving its product were the phantom dangers created by consumer groups
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ghost
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
Halloween is supposed to be a time when phantoms return to walk among us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of phantom
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
The floating objects, trance communications, phantom touches, miraculous healings, and poltergeist writings that followed in the five decades after Mona’s death were attributed to her and a pantheon of other notable spirits, including Black Elk.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
There has been a phantom haunting this Matlock season.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Adjective
Reeves turns in a heartbreaking performance, Tatum is at the height of his talents and Philip Ettinger is also great as the assailant who becomes a phantom-like figure in the child's mind.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
The floating objects, trance communications, phantom touches, miraculous healings, and poltergeist writings that followed in the five decades after Mona’s death were attributed to her and a pantheon of other notable spirits, including Black Elk.
—Shannon Taggart, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
Gives himself entirely to the race, shoots like a phantom up through the opening and then stands panting in the garret, completely motionless, while his eyes become accustomed to the change of light.
—Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
There has been a phantom haunting this Matlock season.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phantom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom
Adjective
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Finally, the researchers did another version of the original test but used imaginary grapes instead of juice, with similar results.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
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Unfortunately, the new love in your life may be imaginary and only after your bank account.—
C. A. Bridges,
Florida Times-Union,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the book, the trope is introduced when Lockwood sleeps in Catherine’s childhood bed and is visited by her girl-ghost wandering the moors, demanding to be let in.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
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The show’s greatest strength was never just the jump scares or the hidden ghosts tucked into background shots.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Juggling demanding apparitions alongside staff burnout, family pressures and a coworker who seems to know more about her than expected, the series grounds its supernatural premise in the cultural specificity of the Filipino healthcare experience.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
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An apparition will appear before us.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The difference between documentary approaches and fictional approaches to a musical figure — at heart, there’s no difference at all.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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But in a first for Marvel, Abdul-Mateen II was not there as himself, but rather in character as Simon Williams to discuss the fictional Wonder Man movie that is central to season one of the Disney+ show.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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To see him in such high spirits, seemingly not dampened by being rested for the final half-hour as Chelsea continue to manage his minutes, was a rare treat.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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The spirit and the symbolism were, at times, undecipherable.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The series follows a teenage boy who forms an unlikely alliance with the Fairy Queen of Celtic lore to search for malevolent mythical creatures from around the world, among them the Yeti, Baba Yaga and a Lady Dracula — not to destroy them, but to save them from impending doom.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Jones portrays the fierce warrior Prince Vlad of Wallachia, who goes on to become the mythical Dracula.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The experiments together suggest that Kanzi was able to distinguish an imagined scenario from the present reality and keep both in mind.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
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So, the transactional world is constantly pushing us out of the present and redirecting us to an imagined future.—
Bill Burnett,
Big Think,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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