— apparitional , adj.
/ap'euh rish"euhn/ , n.
1. a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, esp. a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith: a ghostly apparition at midnight.
2. anything that appears, esp. something remarkable or startling: the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York City.
3. an act of appearing; manifestation.
4. Astron. the appearance or time when a comet, esp. a periodic one, is visible: the 1986 apparition of Halley's comet.
[ 1400-50; late ME apparicio ( u ) n apparition- (s. of apparitio, as calque of Gk epipháneia EPIPHANY), equiv. to L apparit ( us ) (ptp. of apparere; see APPEAR) + -ion- -ION ]
Syn. 1. spirit, shade. 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.