apparition: Meaning and Definition of

ap•pa•ri•tion

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