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WordWealth: apparition
ap·pa·ri·tion
("a-p&-'ri-sh&n),
n.
1. a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, esp. a
ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith: a ghostly apparition at
midnight.
2. anything that appears, esp. something remarkable or
startling: the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York
City.
3. an act of appearing; manifestation.
4. Astron. the appearance or time when a comet, esp.
a periodic one, is visible: the 1986 apparition of Halley's
comet.
[1400–50; late ME apparicio(u)n < AF, OF <
LL app riti n-
(s. of appriti,
as calque of Gk epipháneia
EPIPHANY),
equiv. to L apprit(us)
(ptp. of appr re;
see APPEAR)
+ -in-
-ION]
—ap pa·ri tion·al,
adj.
(Random
House Webster's, Unabridged);
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Thesaurus
From the street the
maroon glass panels seem like an elegant apparition. "Pasticceria,"
one says, in gilded italic lettering framed by gold curlicue
borders. "Gelateria," "Caffè," "Torrefazione," say three more,
signifying that ice cream and coffee, as well as pastry, are
served behind the spotless plate-glass windows, and that coffee
beans are roasted on the premises.——
Corby Kummer in
Slice of Life, the Atlantic, Feb,
2000
But I could hardly
drink in the atmosphere. Ramana, who had appeared like an apparition to escort
me into the stadium, was an apparition in search of an audience. He maintained
a continuous monologue as we circumnavigated the court.——
Marshall Jon Fisher, a freelance writer and the
co-author of
Tube: The Invention of Television
(1996), in
Brando's Birds.
Juan Diego, an Indian peasant, who lived almost 500 years ago, is said to have witnessed an
apparition of a dark-skinned Madonna - the Virgin of Guadalupe - who is Mexico's patron saint.——
Frail Pope concludes busy Americas tour,
BBC, August, 2002
—Syn.1. spirit, shade. 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.
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