Dictionary

phantasmagoria en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌfæntæzməˈɡɔːɹi.ə/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˌfæntæzməˈɡɒɹi.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from French phantasmagorie, from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “ghost”) + possibly either ἀγορά (agorá, “assembly, gathering”) + the suffix -ia or ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak publicly”).

Meanings

1. (historical) A popular 18th- and 19th-century form of theater entertainment whereby ghostly apparitions are formed.
2. A series of events involving rapid changes in light intensity and color.
3. A dreamlike state where real and imagined elements are blurred together.
   • 1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life Chapter V It is impossible to convey, in words, any idea of the hideous phantasmagoria of shifting limbs and faces which moved through the evil-smelling twilight of this terrible prison-house. Callot might have drawn it, Dante might have suggested it, but a minute attempt to describe its horrors would but disgust. There are depths in humanity which one cannot explore, as there are mephitic caverns into which one dare not penetrate.
   • What’s happening at the Post now — I’m surprised more people haven’t drawn the comparison — is sort of comparable to the phantasmagoria of rake stomps which took place at The New Republic after Facebook billionaire Chris Hughes purchased it in 2012. 2025 July 24, Josh Marshall, “Why Is Jeff Bezos Rakestomping the Post?”, in Talking Points Memo, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2025:
   • this mental phantasmagoria 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

phantasmagorically · phantasmagorian · phantasmagorical · phantasmagoric · phantasmagorist · phantasmagorial

Synonyms

magic lantern

Translations (22)

ro fantasmagorie (a dreamlike state) · pt fantasmagoria (a dreamlike state) · ja 走馬灯 (a series of events) · sh fantazmagòrija (a series of events) · hu fantazmagória (a dreamlike state) · it fantasmagoria (a dreamlike state) · ru фантасмаго́рия (a dreamlike state) · ja 影絵 (a series of events) · ja 幻 (a dreamlike state) · ja 幻灯 (a series of events) · be фантасмаго́рыя (a dreamlike state) · sh fantazmagòrija (a dreamlike state) · ca fantasmagoria (a series of events) · fi fantasmagoria (a dreamlike state) · cmn 走馬燈 /走马灯 (a series of events) · fr fantasmagorie (a dreamlike state) · es fantasmagoría (a dreamlike state) · pl fantasmagoria (a dreamlike state) · fi fantasmagoria (a series of events) · ca fantasmagoria (a dreamlike state) · de Phantasmagorie (a dreamlike state) · uk фантасмаго́рія (a dreamlike state)