phantom
/ˈfæntəm/
adjective
- Existing only in the imagination; not real or not present but seeming to be.
- She heard phantom footsteps behind her, but no one was there.
- The phantom image on the screen was just a glitch in the system.
- He felt a phantom pain in his leg long after the injury had healed.
noun
- A ghost or spirit that appears or is believed to appear.
- In the story, a phantom appeared to the lost traveler and pointed the way home.
- The old house was said to be haunted by a phantom that walked the halls at night.
- Many people claim to have seen a phantom in the graveyard after dark.
- Something that exists only in the imagination and is not real.
- The idea of a perfect life is a phantom that no one can truly achieve.
- The fear of failure was just a phantom that held him back from trying.
- She chased the phantom of fame, only to find it was empty.