Phantom vs Fathom - What's the difference?
phantom | fathom |
Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or apparition; something elusive or delusive.
An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.
Illusive.
*{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Stephen Crane)
, title=, chapter=1
, passage=[…] (it was the town's humour to be always gassing of phantom investors who were likely to come any moment and pay a thousand prices for everything) — “[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. […]”}}
Fictitious or nonexistent.
(obsolete) Grasp, envelopment, control.
(nautical) A measure of length corresponding to the outstretched arms, standardised to six feet, now used mainly for measuring depths in seas or oceans.
(by extension) Mental reach or scope; penetration; the extent of capacity; depth of thought or contrivance.
* Shakespeare
(archaic) To encircle with outstretched arms, especially to take a measurement; to embrace.
To measure the depth of, take a sounding of.
(figuratively) To get to the bottom of; to manage to comprehend (a problem etc.).
As nouns the difference between phantom and fathom
is that phantom is something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or apparition; something elusive or delusive while fathom is grasp, envelopment, control.As an adjective phantom
is illusive.As a proper noun Phantom
is nickname of the F-4B jet fighter flown by Marines in Vietnam.As a verb fathom is
to encircle with outstretched arms, especially to take a measurement; to embrace.phantom
English
Alternative forms
* fantom (archaic)Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* ghost * See alsoDerived terms
* phantom limb * phantom painAdjective
(-)External links
*Anagrams
*fathom
English
Noun
(en noun)- Another of his fathom they have none / To lead their business (Othello, I.i. 151-2).
Synonyms
*(measure of length corresponding to the outstretched arms) braceVerb
(en verb)- I can't for the life of me fathom what this means.