n., pl., -ri·as, also -ries.
- A fantastic sequence of haphazardly associative imagery, as seen in dreams or fever.
- A constantly changing scene composed of numerous elements.
- Fantastic imagery as represented in art.
[Alteration of obsolete French phantasmagorie, art of creating supernatural illusions : perhaps fantasme, illusion (from Old French; see phantasm) + allégorie, allegory, allegorical visual representation (from Old French, allegory , from Latin allēgoria; see allegory).]
phantasmagoric phan·tas'ma·gor'ic (-gôr'ĭk, -gŏr'-) adj.phantasmagorically phan·tas'ma·gor'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
