phantom definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

phan·tom [ fántəm ]

noun (plural phan·toms)

Definition:

1. unreal being or sensation: something that can be seen or heard or whose presence can be felt, but that is not physically present

2. ghost: a ghost or apparition

3. illusion: somebody or something that does not exist, or whose existence is difficult to prove

4. imaginary shape: an imaginary embodiment in threatening form of an abstract thing or quality

The phantom of disaster seemed to threaten their success.

adjective

Definition:

1. like phantom: having the nature of a phantom, especially in being ghostly, illusory, or unreal

phantom horsemen

2. nonexistent: nonexistent, but claimed to exist usually for purposes of fraud

phantom voters

[13th century. Via Old French fanto(s)me< Greek phantasma (see phantasm)]

Cultural Note


	The Phantom of the Opera, a novel (1910) by French writer Gaston Leroux. This romantic melodrama about a disfigured musical genius who dwells in the passageways of a Paris opera house was not widely known until the appearance of Rupert Julian's movie adaptation of 1925. This in turn inspired other movie adaptations as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical, one of the most successful musicals of all time.