apparition
Americannoun
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a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, especially a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith.
a ghostly apparition at midnight.
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anything that appears, especially something remarkable or startling.
the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York City.
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an act of appearing; manifestation.
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Astronomy. the appearance or time when a comet, especially a periodic one, is visible.
the 1986 apparition of Halley's comet.
noun
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an appearance, esp of a ghost or ghostlike figure
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the figure so appearing; phantom; spectre
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the act of appearing or being visible
Related Words
Apparition, phantasm, phantom are terms for a supernatural appearance. An apparition of a person or thing is an immaterial appearance that seems real, and is generally sudden or startling in its manifestation: an apparition of a headless horseman. Both phantom and phantasm denote an illusory appearance, as in a dream; the former may be pleasant, while the latter is usually frightening: a phantom of loveliness; a monstrous phantasm.
Other Word Forms
- apparitional adjective
- nonapparitional adjective
Etymology
Origin of apparition
1400–50; late Middle English apparicio ( u ) n < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin appāritiōn- (stem of appāritiō, as calque of Greek epipháneia epiphany ), equivalent to Latin appārit ( us ) (past participle of appārēre; appear ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“She is Our Lady of Guadalupe,” he tells me, a Marian apparition venerated as a national icon in Mexico.
Boone is responsible for tremendous environmental harm but remains unrepentant, even as other apparitions materialize seeking to shame him into confessing his sins.
And when these apparitions vanish, the text’s overriding theme—of life’s evanescence but also its beauty—does finally dovetail with the ghostly images created by the technology.
Aunt Kitty glided down the steps without a sound and moved along the path like a ghostly apparition.
From Literature
The apparition loomed before them, pale as the moon.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
