phantom
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a ghost or a spirit that you think you see.
n.an apparition or ghost-like figure.
Simple“The old stories say a phantom walks the halls of the castle at night.”
In context“The poet described the mist rising from the lake as a pale phantom, haunting the shoreline until the sun burned it away.”
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
n.something that you think is real but only exists in your mind.
n.a mental image or illusion that lacks physical reality.
Simple“He was chasing a phantom of his past, trying to find a home that no longer existed.”
In context“The promised economic recovery proved to be a mere phantom, vanishing as soon as the quarterly inflation figures were released.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a model or object used in science to act like a human body part.
n.a device or test object that simulates the physical characteristics of human tissue, often used to calibrate imaging equipment.
Simple“The researchers used a water-filled phantom to test the new X-ray machine.”
In context“Before the clinical trials began, the engineers calibrated the MRI scanner using a synthetic phantom designed to mimic the density of human brain tissue.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.describing something that is not real or does not actually exist, often used for fake businesses.
adj.fictitious, non-existent, or illusive; often used to describe fraudulent entities or sensations.
Simple“The police discovered that the money was being sent to a phantom company.”
In context“The patient complained of phantom pain in his limb, a common neurological phenomenon following an amputation.”
UsageUsually placed before the noun.
Synonyms
Inherited from Middle English fantome, fanteme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.