poltergeist

noun pol·ter·geist \ˈpōl-tər-ˌgīst\

: a ghost that makes strange noises and causes objects to move

Full Definition of POLTERGEIST

: a noisy usually mischievous ghost held to be responsible for unexplained noises (as rappings)

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German, from poltern to knock + Geist spirit

First Known Use: 1848

Synonyms: apparition, bogey (also bogie or bogy), familiar spirit, hant [dialect], haunt [chiefly dialect], materialization, phantasm (also fantasm), phantom, ghost, shade, shadow, specter (or spectre), spirit, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith

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