Apparition Meaning
/ˌæp.əɹˈɪʃn̩/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.
nounThe thing appearing; a visible object; a form.
Sentence Examples
Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me?
Lucy seemed stiffened to stone by this unexpected apparition.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the haunted house, a ghostly ____ appeared before the terrified visitors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old man claimed he saw a ghostly ____ in the empty hallway.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French apparition, from Latin apparitio, from appareo.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"the sudden apparition of the Spaniards"
— 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:
"The apparition of Lawyer Clippurse occasioned much speculation in that portion of the world."
— 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
"[…] which apparition, it seems, was you."
— 1709 August 26 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Monday, August 16, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 55; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume I, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC:
"I think it is the weakness of mine eyes / That shapes this monstrous apparition."
— 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
"The heavenly bands […] a glorious apparition."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the haunted house, a ghostly ____ appeared before the terrified visitors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old man claimed he saw a ghostly ____ in the empty hallway.