- a perception of something that has no physical reality; figment of the mind; esp., a specter, or ghostalso phan·tas′mapl. -·mata or -·mas
- a deceptive likeness
- Philos. a mental impression of a real person or thing
Origin of phantasmMiddle English fantasme ; from Old French ; from Classical Latin phantasma ; from Classical Greek ; from phantazein, to show ; from stem of phainein, to appear: see fantasy
- Something apparently seen but having no physical reality; a phantom or an apparition. Also called phantasma.
- An illusory mental image. Also called phantasma.
- In Platonic philosophy, objective reality as perceived and distorted by the five senses.
Origin of phantasmMiddle English fantasme, from Old French, from Latin phantasma, from Greek, from phantazein, to make visible, from phantos, visible, from phainein, to show; see bh&amacron;-1 in Indo-European roots.
- phan·tas′mal , phan·tas′mic