Phrase guide

ghost population

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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A population that is inferred to have existed based on data that has been reconstructed rather than on direct sampling.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The Ancient North-Eurasians are a ghost population whose existence can be inferred from analysis of European and Native American genes.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From ghost + population.