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phantom

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fantuhm

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfæntəm

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. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.

  2. A ghost or apparition.

  3. Nickname of the F-4B jet fighter flown by U.S. marines in Vietnam.

  4. A Rolls-Royce Phantom automobile.

  5. colloquialuncountable

    Short for phantom power

adjective

  1. Fictitious or nonexistent.

  2. Illusive.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.

Used this way, phantom 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

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

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Apparently

phantom pain

Placeholder

some phantom

Other combinations

phantom limbmere phantomphantom menacewater phantomphantom ranch

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • phantom limbnounCompound term

    The illusion that a limb still exists after it has been amputated.

  • phantom limb painnounCompound term

    Pain felt by an amputee that seems to be located in the missing limb.

  • phantom limb syndromenounCompound term

    Syndrome consisting of discomfort or pain in a limb that has been amputated.

  • phantom orchidnounCompound term

    Waxy white nearly leafless plant with stems in clusters and racemes of white flowers.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: something apparently seen or heard or or sensed

specter

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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.