apparition
UK /ˌæp.əɹˈɪʃn̩/ · US /ˌæp.ɚˈɪʃ.n̩/ noun
Forms apparitions
- noun An act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.
- noun The thing appearing; a visible object; a form.
- noun An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; especially, one by a ghost, phantom, or suchlike; the entity itself. “The region's economy is buoyed by tourism driven by past apparitions of the Virgin Mary.”
- noun (astronomy) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; opposed to occultation.
- noun (astronomy) A period of consecutive days or nights when a particular celestial body may be observed, beginning with the heliacal rising of the body and ending with its heliacal setting.
Synonyms
vision phantom phantasm phantasma fantasm specter spectre shadow
Etymology
From Middle French apparition, from Latin apparitio, from appareo.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility. Milton.
- noun The thing appearing; a visible object; a form.
Etymology [F. apparition, L. apparitio, fr. apparere. See Appear.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “apparition”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details