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ghost

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The visible disembodied soul of a dead person.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gohst
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡoʊst

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The visible disembodied soul of a dead person

  2. A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.

  3. A false image formed in a telescope, camera, or other optical device by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.

  4. by extension

    Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image.

  5. An unwanted image similar to and overlapping or adjacent to the main one on a television screen, caused by the transmitted image being received both directly and via reflection.

  6. A nonexistent person invented to obtain some (typically fraudulent) benefit.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To appear suddenly or move like a disembodied soul; specifically (often sports); also (transitive, dated) followed by the dummy subject it: to move easily and quietly without anyone noticing; to slip.

  2. transitiveby extensionfigurative

    To continuously cause (someone or something) trouble; specifically, to continuously be in the thoughts of (someone) in a disturbing manner; to perturb, to trouble.

  3. transitiveby extensionfigurative

    (slang) To kill (someone).

  4. transitiveby extensionfigurative

    (chiefly social media, slang) To stop communicating with (someone) on social media, though text messages, etc., without explanation, especially as a way of ending a relationship; hence, to end a relationship with (someone) by stopping all communication without explanation.

  5. intransitive

    Followed by for: synonym of ghostwrite ("to write a literary work or speech, or produce an artistic work, in the place of someone"); also, to carry out an artistic performance in the place of someone.

  6. Haunt like a ghost; pursue

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The visible disembodied soul of a dead person

Used this way, ghost is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • shade , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use ghost

  • “He looked like he had seen a ghost.”noun
  • “The masked men ghosted across the moonlit yard.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

False / unwanted

ghost story

White

gray ghost

Other combinations

ghost danceghost town

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • ghost gumnounCompound term

    Small to medium-sized tree of Australia and Tasmania having smooth white to light-grey bark shedding in patches or strips.

  • ghost townnounCompound term

    A deserted settlement (especially in western United States).

  • ghost weednounCompound term

    Annual spurge of western United States having showy white-bracted flower clusters and very poisonous milk.

  • ghost wordnounCompound term

    A word form that has entered the language through the perpetuation of an error.

  • ghost dancenounCompound term

    A religious dance of Native Americans looking for communication with the dead.

  • give-up the ghostverbCompound term

    Pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.