1
as in spirits
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
looked for ghosts in the graveyard on Halloween
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in damns
the smallest amount or part imaginable
she may be a good endurance runner, but she doesn't stand a ghost of a chance of winning in a sprint
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in relics
a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished
the down-at-the-heels town house is but a ghost of the neighborhood's former grandeur
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in demons
an evil spirit
the vengeful ghosts of seamen who were deliberately shipwrecked upon these shores
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ghosts
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
Our resident puck-heads have always had a sweet spot for the old World Hockey Association and its myriad of ghosts.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025
One New York Times story from 1937 described the popular costumes as paper-based — King Winter and ghosts for adults; ducks, squirrels, and foxes for kids.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
More than just ghosts and gouls As an adult, my greatest hope was that the celebrations reminded me of the magic of my childhood.
—Sam Woodward, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
When 100-year-old Buxley Hall suffers financially and begins allowing girls into the previously-boys-only academy, the school's ghosts let their disapproval be known.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Hidden in the outskirts of downtown Stillwater, visitors can hunt down the haunted history and ghosts of the Warden’s House Museum.
—Sophia Arndt, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
Scatter candy pumpkins and ghosts onto cake as desired.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
Their story lines are connected by the Talamasca, a secret society that keeps tabs on the world’s vampires, witches, ghosts, and demons, like archivists and librarians trained in combat and engaged in spycraft.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
Our resident puck-heads have always had a sweet spot for the old World Hockey Association and its myriad of ghosts.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025
One New York Times story from 1937 described the popular costumes as paper-based — King Winter and ghosts for adults; ducks, squirrels, and foxes for kids.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
More than just ghosts and gouls As an adult, my greatest hope was that the celebrations reminded me of the magic of my childhood.
—Sam Woodward, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
When 100-year-old Buxley Hall suffers financially and begins allowing girls into the previously-boys-only academy, the school's ghosts let their disapproval be known.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Hidden in the outskirts of downtown Stillwater, visitors can hunt down the haunted history and ghosts of the Warden’s House Museum.
—Sophia Arndt, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
Scatter candy pumpkins and ghosts onto cake as desired.
—Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ghosts
Noun
-
For bones, spirits, and some menacing dolls, here’s where to go for a fright.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Budj Bim assigned the weeping she-oak (Casuarina) trees, whose whispering voices can be heard in the wind, to be the guardian spirits of the landscape.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Step into a time warp of vintage gas pumps, racing memorabilia, and unusual roadside relics at Mendenhall’s Museum.—
Maggie Downs,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Eight other jewels - all relics of France's imperial history - remain missing.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Based on the book series The Mortal Instruments, the Freeform series follows a girl (Katherine McNamara) who descends from a long line of human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons.—
Kelsie Gibson,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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Red must face his demons and pick up the bottle one last time to take down the monster and save his town for good.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Throughout modern history, visitors have reported ghostly apparitions according to Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
28 Oct. 2025
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Over the years, those apparitions have become just as much of a fixture in the Palace as the ornamental turrets and columns.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Cast adrift in a frosty wilderness—a harrowing yet welcome departure, visually, from the Gothic shadows of Victor’s lair—the Creature experiences a dollop of decency, courtesy of a blind old farmer (a wonderful David Bradley), but also a deluge of misery, courtesy of everyone else.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
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The facility also replicates the moon's intense sunlight, harsh shadows and dust-laden environment, providing a realistic setting for testing equipment like Argonaut.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
How will the weather affect the goblins, ghosts and ghouls in your neighborhood on Halloween evening?—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
27 Oct. 2025
-
But this Halloween, chasing away the ghouls haunting Tesla looks like a miracle too far.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Adding the killer’s voice just pads an already too-long book.—
Maren Longbella,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
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Not to say there aren’t some clunkers, most notably a jokey take-me-out-to-the-ballgame baseball number that pads the second act, but the Flaherty-Ahrens score was and is Ragtime‘s signature achievement.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Just in time for Halloween, the sonic phantoms that have long plagued the ladies of The View have seemingly possessed inanimate objects over on the Live With Kelly and Mark set.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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Understanding neutrinos’ properties could help explain how how the universe formed, how stars evolve and whether neutrinos, which pass through the Earth and even our bodies like phantoms, are their own antiparticles.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ghosts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ghosts. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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