Phrase guide

ghost in the machine

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The mental activity that occurs in parallel with physical action, but with no known way for the two to interact, according to the theories of mind-body dualism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by British philosopher Gilbert Ryle in 1949.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: aave koneessa — philosophical term
  • French: fantôme dans la machine — philosophical term
  • Polish: duch w maszynie — philosophical term
  • Portuguese: fantasma na máquina — philosophical term