1. illusions or figments of the imagination; things that appear real but exist only in the mind
Usage: plural of phantasm
2. ghostly apparitions or supernatural beings
Usage: literary; plural of phantasm

Examples

• The fever caused him to see phantasms that weren’t really there.
• She dismissed her fears as mere phantasms of an overactive imagination.
• The old castle was said to be haunted by phantasms from centuries past.
• His guilt manifested as phantasms that tormented him at night.
• The desert heat created phantasms that looked like distant water.
• Writers often draw inspiration from the phantasms of their dreams.