phantom
gb/fˈæntəm/ us/fˈæntəm/
B1
English
~ 9700
kísértet, fantom, képzelt, rémkép, árnyéka önmagának, halvány mása
NOUN
B1
LITERARY
1
kísértet
B1
Usage pattern:
a phantom haunts [a place]
Several villagers claimed they had seen a white phantom drifting through the old graveyard at night.
Több falubeli azt állította, hogy éjjel egy fehér kísértetet láttak lebegni a régi temetőben.
The legend tells of a phantom that guards the ruins of the castle.
A legenda egy kísértetről szól, amely őrzi a vár romjait.
She woke up certain that a dark phantom was standing at the end of her bed.
Learner examples
They say a phantom walks in that empty house.
Azt mondják, egy kísértet jár abban az üres házban.
He believes the phantom of a soldier visits the old fort.
Azt hiszi, egy katona kísértete meglátogatja a régi erődöt.
In the story, a phantom appears every full moon.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'phantom' instead of the more common word 'ghost' in everyday conversation. 'Phantom' is correct but can sound more literary or dramatic. Use 'ghost' in normal, casual speech and 'phantom' for stories, titles, or a spooky, poetic tone.
Meaning
ghost or supernatural apparition
Collocations
ghostly phantom
|see a phantom
|phantom figure
|phantom haunting
|dark phantom
|shadowy phantom
Synonyms
ghost (More common everyday word; slightly less dramatic or literary than 'phantom'.)
Antonyms
living person (Contrasts a disembodied spirit with a person who is alive in a physical body.)
Themes
supernatural
|stories
|religion
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A ghost; the spirit of a dead person that people say can appear and be seen.
A ghostly figure, especially the spirit of a dead person that appears to the living.
B2
2
Usage pattern:
phantom [noun]
After the accident, he continued to feel a phantom limb where his arm had been.
A baleset után továbbra is fantomvégtagot érzett ott, ahol a karja volt.
Investors were shocked to discover they owed tax on phantom income they had never actually received.
A befektetők megdöbbentek, amikor kiderült, hogy olyan fantomjövedelem után is adót kell fizetniük, amit valójában soha nem kaptak meg.
Many smartphone users report phantom vibrations when their phones are not really ringing.
Learner examples
She feels phantom pain in her missing leg.
Fantomfájdalmat érez a hiányzó lábában.
The man must pay tax on phantom income that he cannot spend.
A férfinak olyan fantomjövedelem után kell adót fizetnie, amit nem tud elkölteni.
I sometimes think I hear a phantom ring from my phone.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse adjective 'phantom' with the noun meaning 'ghost'. In phrases like 'phantom limb' or 'phantom income', it does not mean there is a ghost; it means the limb or income is not really there, but it feels or is counted as if it is.
Meaning
not real but seems real
Collocations
phantom limb
|phantom pain
|phantom income
|phantom pregnancy
|phantom vibration
|phantom signal
Synonyms
imaginary (Focuses on existing only in the mind; 'phantom' often suggests a specific sensation, effect, or record that seems very real.)
Antonyms
real (Describes something that actually exists or is physically present, unlike a phantom thing.)
Themes
medicine
|perception
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Not really there, but it feels, looks, or is counted as if it is there.
Not physically real or present, but seeming to exist, be felt, or be recorded as if it were.
NOUN
B2
LITERARY
3
Usage pattern:
the phantom of [something abstract]
The phantom of unemployment still haunts voters even as the economy improves.
A munkanélküliség kísértete még mindig kísérti a választókat, még ha a gazdaság javul is.
She could not escape the phantoms of her past mistakes.
Nem tudott szabadulni a múltbeli hibái kísérteteitől.
They were fighting a political phantom that existed more in their speeches than in real life.
Learner examples
He lives with the phantom of failure in his mind.
A kudarc kísértetével él a fejében.
Old phantoms from her childhood still make her afraid.
Gyerekkorából származó régi kísértetek még mindig félelemmel töltik el.
The fear of crime was mostly a phantom, not a real danger.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes assume this sense always involves something spooky like a ghost. In this literary use, 'phantom' usually means an imagined fear, problem, or memory that feels like it follows or haunts a person, not a real supernatural being.
Meaning
imagined fear, threat, or idea
Collocations
phantom of fear
|phantom of guilt
|phantom of recession
|phantoms of the past
|chase phantoms
|haunted by phantoms
Synonyms
illusion (General word for something that seems real but is not; 'phantom' suggests a more haunting, persistent mental image or fear.)
Antonyms
reality (Represents what is actually true or exists, as opposed to a phantom that exists only in the mind.)
Themes
emotions
|psychology
|politics
|core_vocabulary
Definition
An idea, fear, or hope that feels real to a person but does not really exist.
Something that is feared, desired, or imagined but does not exist in reality; an illusion that affects thoughts or behavior.
NOUN
C1
LITERARY
4
Usage pattern:
a phantom of [someone/something]
He had become a phantom of his former self after months of illness.
Hónapokig tartó betegség után már csak önmaga árnyéka volt.
Her laughter was now only a phantom of the bright sound he remembered.
A nevetése már csak halvány mása volt annak a vidám hangnak, amire emlékezett.
The once-busy port was reduced to a phantom of its former glory.
Learner examples
After the long war, the town was a phantom of its old self.
A hosszú háború után a város már csak régi önmaga árnyéka volt.
He gave only a phantom of a smile when he heard the news.
A hír hallatán csak egy mosoly halvány árnyéka jelent meg az arcán.
The company is now a phantom of what it was before.
Common mistake:
This sense is mainly literary. Learners sometimes translate similar phrases from their own languages too directly. In English, 'a shadow of his former self' is more common; 'a phantom of his former self' is stronger and more poetic.
Meaning
faint, shadow-like remnant
Collocations
a phantom of his former self
|a phantom of a smile
|a phantom of her old life
Synonyms
shadow (Common metaphor for a weak remnant; 'phantom' sounds more poetic and suggests something almost gone or insubstantial.)
Antonyms
fullness (Represents something complete and strong, the opposite of a faint, almost absent phantom form.)
Themes
emotions
|descriptions
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A very small and weak form of something that was once big or strong.
A very weak, thin, or shadow-like remaining form of something that used to be stronger, fuller, or more present.
NOUN
C2
TECHNICAL
5
fantom
C1
Usage pattern:
a phantom used for [testing/calibration]
The team used an anthropomorphic phantom to verify the accuracy of the new CT scanner.
A csapat egy antropomorf fantomot használt, hogy ellenőrizze az új CT-készülék pontosságát.
Dose measurements were first performed on a water phantom before any patients were treated.
A dózisméréseket először egy vízfantomon végezték el, mielőtt bármely beteget kezeltek volna.
Quality control procedures require daily imaging of a standardized phantom.
Learner examples
The hospital tests the machine on a phantom before it is used on people.
A kórház egy fantomon teszteli a gépet, mielőtt embereken használnák.
Students practice with a body phantom to learn how to use the scanner.
A diákok egy testfantommal gyakorolnak, hogy megtanulják használni a szkennert.
Scientists measure the radiation in a phantom, not in a real patient.
Common mistake:
Outside of technical fields, many learners do not know this meaning and may wrongly assume it means 'ghost'. In medical or physics texts, 'phantom' almost always means a test object, not a supernatural being.
Meaning
test object for imaging or radiation
Collocations
radiation phantom
|imaging phantom
|anthropomorphic phantom
|water phantom
|dosimetry phantom
Synonyms
dummy (Informal word for a model or test body; 'phantom' is the standard technical term in medical imaging and radiation physics.)
Antonyms
living subject (In this context, contrasts a non-living test object with a real human or animal used in experiments or clinical practice.)
Themes
medicine
|science
|technology
|health
Definition
A model of the human body, or part of it, used by doctors and scientists to check machines like scanners or radiation equipment.
An artificial object that imitates the shape and physical properties of part or all of the human body, used to test, calibrate, or train with medical imaging or radiation equipment.
Grammar
Dictionary form
phantom
IPA
GB/fˈæntəm/
US/fˈæntəm/
Syllables & stress
phantom (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (phantom)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: phantom
- Plural: phantoms
Word family
Forms
phantoms
noun
Expressions
phantom income
1/fˈæntəm ˈɪŋkˌʌm/
fixed phrase
technical
taxable income without cash received
Money that the tax office says you earned and must pay tax on, even though you did not actually receive that money in cash.
Examples
- Investors were surprised to receive tax bills on phantom income from the fund.
- Certain debt cancellations can create phantom income for the borrower.
phantom limb
1/fˈæntəm lˈɪm/
fixed phrase
feeling that a missing limb is still there
The feeling that an arm, leg, or other body part is still there, even after it has been removed.
Examples
- Many amputees experience a phantom limb for years after surgery.
- The doctor explained that the strange sensations in his missing foot were due to a phantom limb.
- Therapy can help some patients reduce discomfort from a painful phantom limb.
phantom pain
1/fˈæntəm pˈeɪn/
fixed phrase
technical
pain felt with no visible source
Pain that a person feels in a body part that is not there anymore or does not have an injury that explains the pain.
Examples
- Medication and mirror therapy are sometimes used to treat phantom pain after amputations.
- She reported severe phantom pain in the leg that had been removed years earlier.
phantom pregnancy
1/fˈæntəm pɹˈɛɡnənsi/
fixed phrase
technical
pregnancy symptoms without a fetus
A condition where someone believes they are pregnant and may have many pregnancy signs, but there is no baby in the womb.
Examples
- The doctor diagnosed her with a phantom pregnancy after the ultrasound showed no fetus.
- Phantom pregnancy can involve real physical changes as well as strong emotions.
phantom vibration
1/fˈæntəm vaɪbɹˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
informal
feeling a phone vibrate when it did not
The strange feeling that your phone is moving or ringing in your pocket when it is actually quiet.
Examples
- I keep feeling a phantom vibration from my phone even when it is on my desk.
- Many people who carry smartphones experience phantom vibrations several times a week.