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The only word I can think of is pop up (and maybe materialized).

Are the other words?

Example sentence:

The ghost __ in front of her.

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    Can you tell us why appeared, popped up, and materialized don't work for you in this context? For example, maybe you want something with a different feel or level or formality, or implying a different amount of time to appear? Also, did you look up any or all of these in a Thesaurus? If so, what was wrong with what you found there?
    – 1006a
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 14:20
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    "Burst into sight" is another term that comes to mind.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 1:11
  • To manifest....
    – Arm the good guys in America
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 14:21
  • Honestly, "appeared" -depending on context- usually implies "suddenly" but why not just use "suddenly appear"?
    – Sled
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 15:20

9 Answers 9

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Materialise will fit in your sentence:

If an object materializes, it appears suddenly:

  • Suddenly a lorry appeared in front of her - it seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

see usage examples here:

  • The creature paused to listen, its twisted, bat- snouted face grimacing. Mrs. Seward's ghost materialized beside that of her killer

  • Then a blue sheet, in the shape of a ghost, materialized before them. "

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    Can ghosts be said to materialise, unless it becomes corporeal? (of a ghost, spirit, or similar entity) appear in bodily form. ‘he plays a teenager whose make-believe friend materializes’ en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/materialize
    – Spagirl
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 14:24
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    @Spagirl - ever heard of figurative usage?
    – user66974
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 14:25
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    Why is the most upvoted answer the word that the OP says they have already thought of? The question is "Are there other words?" – this answer does not even try.
    – user163011
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 2:05
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    @theonlygusti - because OP is not sure about it (maybe materialised) while, as a matter of fact, it is probably the more appropriate term in this case.
    – user66974
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 6:13
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    "Materialize" does not connote suddenness. When it is used for a sudden event, the suddenness comes from context, not from the word "materialize".
    – MetaEd
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 18:45
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How about spring up (Merriam-Webster):

: to grow or appear suddenly ▪ The weeds sprang up overnight. ▪ New housing developments are springing up all over the state.

References to ghosts springing up in literature (emphasis mine):

It was, however, all in vain; a veritable ghost sprung up, seized him […]
(‘A Restored Invalid’, The Metropolis of The Water Cure, 1858.)

Meanwhile, Thalia’s classmates were wide-eyed and petrified, as if their long-lost teacher were a ghost sprung up behind them, mouth full of dry yolk.
(Tom Bradley, Killing Bryce, 1999.)

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8

Would you accept a made up word if it was from a well-known series of books, and hence understandable to most people? I suggest apparate:

Verb

  1. (neologism) To appear (magically); to teleport to or from a place.

wiktionary

It is from the Harry Potter series, and is clearly inspired by words such as "appear" and "apparition".

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  • apparate was my first thought too
    – Fodagus
    Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 20:11
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    Henry Potter has been read by most people? I don't think so.
    – Lee Whitney III
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 3:29
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    @Lee I agree that most people probably haven't read Henry Potter. Notwithstanding your typo, I didn't say most people had read Harry Potter either, I just said that a word from the series would be understandable to most people. All that given, you're probably right that using "most" might be stretching it a bit, but hey.
    – AndyT
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 9:49
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    Not everyone has ever seen Star Trek. I'm prettY sure everyone has heard "Beam me up, Scotty."
    – Shane
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 15:24
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Some choices I like:

arose: The ghost arose in front of her.

Basically a minor variation on 'sprung up'.

erupt: The ghost erupted in front of her.

Maintains the desired quickness, if not violence, the author is seeking with "spring up", although I think it would be better to restructure the phrase a bit to make this fit more sensibly, such as "the ghost erupted from the ether before her."

coalesce: The ghost coalesced in front of her.

This doesn't really maintain the sense of quickness as 'sprung up', if anything it sounds rather lazy, but i think it's a fitting choice for a ghost. It has this suggestion of the ghost's form pooling inwards after being spread out, similar to materialize but has a more poetic feel to it.

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    Erupt conveys suddenness, but coalesced and arose suggest an observable transition into being, rather than an instant appearance.
    – barbecue
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 0:08
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Snapped into view could work similarly to sprung or popped up

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  • Snapped has many meanings, including a sudden sharply worded response, a sudden breaking or fracturing, a sudden loud noise, etc. It always indicates a sudden and possibly unexpected effect of some sort.
    – barbecue
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 0:15
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I turned around and shazam she was there.

shazam - used to indicate an instantaneous transformation or appearance

Merriam-Webster

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2

Geek-culture jargon provides:

bamf /bamf/

  1. [from X-Men comics; originally “bampf”] interj. Notional sound made by a person or object teleporting in or out of the hearer's vicinity. Often used in virtual reality (esp. MUD) electronic fora when a character wishes to make a dramatic entrance or exit.

It'd imply a noisy sort of ghost, perhaps the shade of a munitions expert...

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Conjure something up Merriam-Webster

to make (something) appear or seem to appear as if by using magic

A ghost was conjured up in front of them. I have to add though, it is mostly used in the sense - to make sth pop up as if by magic.

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    Yes, conjure is more in line with the "ghost" theme. However, it does not seem quite right in this context, because the emphasis is on some outside force that made the ghost appear, rather than appearance itself.
    – Leigh
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 16:10
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Not sudden, but, with the sample sentence, I rather like coalesce.

As she stood transfixed, the ghost coalesced in front of her.

Come together to form one mass or whole. ‘the puddles had coalesced into shallow streams’

Combine (elements) in a mass or whole. ‘his idea served to coalesce all that happened into one connected whole’

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/coalesce

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    From "coalesce" I infer "appears slowly" not "appears suddenly". That said, google ngrams would indicate that it is just as common with the adjectives "quickly", "slowly" or "suddenly", so maybe it's just me. Or maybe it needs the adjective to avoid implying "slowly".
    – AndyT
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 12:02
  • Yes, I would agree that it "feels" slow - at least it is a noticable process (+1).
    – Mawg
    Commented Mar 24, 2017 at 12:26

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