n.
Pronunciation: ' fan-t ə m
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English fantosme, fantome, from Anglo-French fantosme phantasm
Date: 14th century
1 a : something (as a specter) apparent to sense but with no substantial existence : APPARITION b : something elusive or visionary : WILL-O'-THE-WISP c : an object of continual dread or abhorrence : BUGBEAR <the phantom of disease and want>
2 : something existing in appearance only
3 : a representation of something abstract, ideal, or incorporeal <she was a phantom of delight ― William Wordsworth>
– phan · tom · like \ - ˌ l ī k \ adverb or adjective