In the title compound, C(25)H(18)NO, a stable phenanthridinic nitroxide, the ring containing the nitroxide function assumes a twist-boat conformation and the dihedral angle formed by adjacent benzene rings is 21.78 (5)°. The phenyl substituents at position 2 are approximately orthogonal to each other, forming a dihedral angle of 81.04 (4)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by an intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond and by C-H⋯π inter-actions.