Apparitionally

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Characterized by the qualities or attributes of an apparition, suggesting a ghostly presence or manifestation that is both ethereal and elusive
2. Relating to the state or condition of appearing in a form that is supernatural, often evoking feelings of the uncanny or otherworldly
3. Pertaining to the phenomena associated with apparitions, typically involving spectral sights or manifestations that are perceived as hauntingly real

Etymology: "Apparitionally" is "apparitional" plus the adverb suffix "-ly", and "apparitional" is itself built from "apparition" with the adjective suffix "-al". "Apparition" came into English in the late 1300s from Late Latin "apparitio", meaning "appearance" or "becoming visible", formed from Latin "apparere", "to appear", which combines "ad" ("to") and "parere" ("to come forth, to show oneself"). In its earliest English sense, an apparition was simply any appearance or manifestation, and the sense of a spectral figure came later. The adverb is a rare formation, and its meaning follows directly from that chain: a thing done in the manner of an apparition, that is, in a ghostly or insubstantial way. Most of its uses are found in the 19th and 20th centuries, when writers were comfortable stacking suffixes onto "apparition" to describe fleeting, spectral presences.