ap·pa·ri·tion

[ap-uh-rish-uhn]
noun
1.
a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, especially a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith: a ghostly apparition at midnight.
2.
anything that appears, especially something remarkable or startling: the surprising apparition of cowboys in New York City.
3.
an act of appearing; manifestation.
4.
Astronomy. the appearance or time when a comet, especially a periodic one, is visible: the 1986 apparition of Halley's comet.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English apparicio(u)n < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin appāritiōn- (stem of appāritiō, as calque of Greek epipháneia epiphany), equivalent to Latin appārit(us) (past participle of appārēre; see appear) + -iōn- -ion

ap·pa·ri·tion·al, adjective
non·ap·pa·ri·tion·al, adjective


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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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Apparition is always a great word to know.
So is galaxy. Does it mean:
a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space
a low-mass star that emits low to average amounts of light that burn their hydrogen slowly over a long life span
Collins
World English Dictionary
apparition (ˌæpəˈrɪʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an appearance, esp of a ghost or ghostlike figure
2.  the figure so appearing; phantom; spectre
3.  the act of appearing or being visible
 
[C15: from Late Latin appāritiō, from Latin: attendance, from appārēre to appear]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

apparition
1520s, from Anglo-Fr. aparicion, from O.Fr. apparition, used in reference to the Epiphany (revealing of Christ child to the Wise Men), from L.L. apparitionem (nom. apparitio) "an appearance," also "attendants," in classical Latin "service, servants," from pp. stem of apparere "appear" (see
appear). Meaning "ghost" first recorded c.1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The apparition informed us he had more right to the path than any folks living.
At first, the apparition is happy to be free of his physical constraints and is
  raring to change the fortunes of any and all.
The water was murky, which only added to the mood of unworldly discovery this
  bizarre apparition is clearly meant to impart.
Yet I was greatly disturbed at the apparition.
Images for apparition
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