phantasm Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a ghostly appearing figure
    phantom; fantasm; apparition; spectre; phantasma; specter.
    • we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us
  2. noun something existing in perception only
    phantom; fantasm; apparition; phantasma; shadow.
    • a ghostly apparition at midnight

WordNet

Phan"tasm noun
Etymology
L. phantasma. See Phantom, and cf. Fantasm.
Definitions
  1. An image formed by the mind, and supposed to be real or material; a shadowy or airy appearance; sometimes, an optical illusion; a phantom; a dream.
    They be but phantasms or apparitions. Sir W. Raleigh.
  2. A mental image or representation of a real object; a fancy; a notion. Cudworth.
    Figures or little features, of which the description had produced in you no phantasm or expectation. Jer. Taylor.

Webster 1913