specter
Americannoun
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a visible incorporeal spirit, especially one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.
- Synonyms:
- shade
-
some object or source of terror or dread.
the specter of disease or famine.
Synonym Usage
See ghost.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of specter
First recorded 1595–1605; from Latin spectrum “appearance, form”; see spectrum
Explanation
A specter means a ghostly apparition, a ghost itself, or simply an idea that people find frightening. You can give yourself nightmares if you listen to too many stories about ghostly specters appearing in dark windows. Specters as fears are the kind that tend to loom on the edge of our minds, lying dormant for awhile, then raising their ugly heads. It can be hard to sleep if you think too much about the specter of a terrorist attack, or the specter that your blabbermouth cousin might spill the beans to your parents about the night you two took your dad's car without asking. The word can also be spelled spectre.
Vocabulary lists containing specter
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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A Christmas Carol
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Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The specter of SpaceX is hanging over AT&T, Verizon and other telecommunications stocks as investors fear an Elon Musk-led industry shakeup.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Their involvement now raises the specter of another squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by closures on the Strait of Hormuz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The massive run-up also has raised the specter of a summertime pullback, given thinner trading volumes and a lack of corporate headlines expected over June and July.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
The worsening economics of television have put pressure on networks to reconsider the value of late-night shows, although the specter of President Trump also hangs over Colbert’s departure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
In the 1850s, however, William Thomson, a British physicist, noticed something odd about Charles’ law: the specter of zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Donors respond to big claims and menacing specters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Every song she sings in the course of three seasons is a summit gained — only to find the path forward blocked by fallen rocks or frightening specters of her own making.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2024
The mysteries around Annie’s murder and the frozen scientists link up so beautifully to the tensions within Ennis that the continued sprinkling of specters, flashbacks and various uncanny events has gotten distracting.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
They do not stir the air, sparing you the torment of airborne specters like dust and dander.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico’s specters.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
