phantom

/ˈfæn.təm/

/-t̬əm/

Definition

› like a ghost: A phantom coach is said to pass through the grounds of this house when there's a full moon.humorous The phantom wine-drinker has been around (= an unknown person has been drinking the wine)!Unreal things and unreality › describes something that you imagine exists or that appears to exist, although in fact it does not: Although she had to have her leg amputated, she still feels as though she's got a phantom limb. They discovered it was a phantom organization set up for the processing of drug profits.UK Although she grew bigger, she later discovered it was a phantom (US false) pregnancy.Unreal things and unreality

(Definition of phantom adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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