a ghost:a phantom who haunts lonely roads [as modifier]:a phantom ship
a figment of the imagination:he tried to clear the phantoms from his head and grasp reality
[as modifier] not real; illusory:a phantom conspiracythe women suffered from phantom pain that no physician could ever find
[as modifier] denoting a financial arrangement or transaction which has been invented for fraudulent purposes:he diverted an estimated £1,500,000 into ‘phantom’ bank accounts
