PHANTOM Synonyms: 124 Similar and Opposite Words

phantom 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of phantom

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

phantom

2 of 2

noun

ˈfan-təm

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of phantom

Adjective

The idea is to take these phantom tissues and place them close to powerful EM sources, transmitters, and other systems to study what happens. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026 Sadly, in discouraging all the phantom agonies, FIFA inadvertently seems to have done away with the equally farcical phenomenon that is Magic Spray®. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026

Noun

On the 1994 comeback album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, Sparks imagined Liberace, who died in 1987, making his own comeback in the afterlife, adored again as a phantom haunting the Earth. — Al Shipley, SPIN, 31 July 2026 Left behind are her great-grandmother’s haunting journals detailing the story of her own phantom, and subsequently, her brutal murder. — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 25 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for phantom

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phantom

Adjective

Where travel still leaves room for people The goal isn't to return to some imaginary golden age of travel.

— Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
There isn’t even a drastic generational shift between that imaginary cast and this film’s actual one.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of imaginary

Noun

To be eligible to play Power Four college sports now means to breathe; there are rumors that a group of ghosts from the 1907 Pitt Panthers is suing the NCAA to play another year.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
In one extended sequence, Delaney just wanders his lonely apartment, the ghost of his wife already haunting the place.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of ghost

Adjective

The April indictment accused the organization of secretly funneling millions of dollars in donor funds to informants embedded in violent extremist movements, using bank accounts opened for fictitious companies.

— Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
The inaugural Ig Nobel Prize ceremony honored three fictitious achievers; all recipients in subsequent years (barring a 1994 award based on inaccurate reporting) have been real people.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of fictitious

Adjective

In the footage, players follow the story of Jason and Lucia, a couple living in the fictional Vice City, who are picking up drugs, and their mission is thwarted by the police, who begin to raid the place.

— Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Claire Foy will also star in the film, playing a fictional reporter of The Sun that acts as a composite of various female reporters of the time period.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of fictional

Noun

In her latest book, Stay Buried, siblings new to a remote Vermont town discover that the locals live in fear of a vengeful spirit.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 2 Sep. 2026
But the legacy of the modernist academic-cultural complex blinds us to the mimetic spirit of this new technical logic.

— Mario Carpo, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of spirit

Adjective

Morris’s book focuses only on the representation of real animals; cataloguing mythic and hybrid creatures would take another volume entirely.

— Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Equally jubilant and terrifying, his size brings both John and Jim Ross to this mythic quality.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of mythical

Adjective

And this year’s menu reflects some through-the-years favorites, including some that have been re-imagined.

— Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Excess doorways were removed and replaced with new casework—the removal of some doorways allowed some spaces to be re-imagined, creating reading nooks or quiet collaboration spaces.

— Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of imagined

Browse Nearby Words

phantasms

phantom

phantoms

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Style

“Phantom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phantom. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of phantom

adjective

noun

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