phantasmal

phantasmal — adjective

  • phantasmalpositive
  • more phantasmalcomparative
  • most phantasmalsuperlative

1. seeming to exist but having no physical reality; like an image or feeling from a

1.形容詞C1
釋義

seeming to exist but having no physical reality; like an image or feeling from a dream or the imagination.

例句

The old theatre's phantasmal glow from the stained glass made the empty seats look strange.

collocation: phantasmal glow — describing light that seems unreal

After the accident, Nadia experienced phantasmal images of people she did not recognize.

collocation: phantasmal images — unreal visual experiences

同義詞
  • ghostly

    more common and suggests a spirit or ghost specifically; phantasmal is broader

  • spectral

    implies a scientific or technical ghostliness, often of light or colour

  • illusory

    focuses on deception of the senses without the mystical connotation

  • ethereal

    suggests delicate, light, heavenly otherworldliness rather than an eerie unreality

反義詞
  • real

    phantasmal things are by definition not physically real

  • tangible

    something tangible can be touched and felt, unlike a phantasm

文法句型

phantasmal + noun

用法筆記

A literary or formal word, rare in everyday conversation. Most often used before a noun (attributive position) rather than after a linking verb.

常見錯誤

❌The dream was phantasmal.
✅The dream had a phantasmal quality.
💡phantasmal is most natural before a noun, not after a linking verb like 'was.'