apparition

[ ap-uh-rish-uhn ]

noun

1. a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, especially a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith:

   a ghostly apparition at midnight.

   Synonyms: shade, spirit

2. anything that appears, especially something remarkable or startling:

   the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York City.

3. an act of appearing; manifestation.
4. Astronomy. the appearance or time when a comet, especially a periodic one, is visible:

   the 1986 apparition of Halley's comet.

apparition

/ ˌæpəˈrɪʃən /

noun

1. an appearance, esp of a ghost or ghostlike figure
2. the figure so appearing; phantom; spectre
3. the act of appearing or being visible

Other Words From

• appa·rition·al adjective
• nonap·pa·rition·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of apparition¹

1400–50; late Middle English apparicio ( u ) n < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin appāritiōn- (stem of appāritiō, as calque of Greek epipháneia epiphany ), equivalent to Latin appārit ( us ) (past participle of appārēre; appear ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of apparition¹

C15: from Late Latin appāritiō, from Latin: attendance, from appārēre to appear

Synonym Study

Apparition, phantasm, phantom are terms for a supernatural appearance. An apparition of a person or thing is an immaterial appearance that seems real, and is generally sudden or startling in its manifestation: an apparition of a headless horseman. Both phantom and phantasm denote an illusory appearance, as in a dream; the former may be pleasant, while the latter is usually frightening: a phantom of loveliness; a monstrous phantasm.

Example Sentences

He noted that the 1978 norms identified plenty of reasons for proceeding carefully, such as whether the purported message received during the apparition contradicted the faith or whether the person claiming it had an economic interest in drawing believers in.

From Seattle Times

The Vatican has generally refrained from intervening, leaving it in the hands of local bishops and offering its approval to fewer than 20 reported apparitions over several centuries, according to Michael O’Neill, who runs the online apparition resource The Miracle Hunter.

From Seattle Times

Least expensive: “A Polaroid of an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a glass structure in Clearwater, Fla. I got it on eBay for $7.”

From New York Times

Now Van Cleef & Arpels is unveiling its latest take on that tradition: In his workshop among the mountains of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, François Junod, a craftsman in his mid-60s who has devoted his life to making automatons, has been working for the past two and a half years on Apparition des Baies, a showstopping new piece for the Paris-based jewelry house.

From New York Times

My mother’s grave is within eyesight of a big statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha, an apparition of the infant Jesus omnipresent in the lives of people from the state of Zacatecas, where she was born.

From Los Angeles Times