specter

American  

[spek-ter] / ˈspɛk tər /

especially British, spectre

noun

1. a visible incorporeal spirit, especially one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.

   Synonyms:

   shade

2. some object or source of terror or dread.

   the specter of disease or famine.

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Related Words

See ghost.

Etymology

Origin of specter

First recorded 1595–1605; from Latin spectrum “appearance, form”; spectrum

Example Sentences

A specter is haunting the U.S. equity market, as seemingly every day a new AI feature sparks investor panic about fresh sectors that are ripe for disruption.

From MarketWatch

Even though the EU clinched a deal with the U.S., the specter of tariffs has never fully disappeared.

From The Wall Street Journal

Luxury goods are particularly sensitive to trans-Atlantic trade frictions and the specter of tariffs has never fully disappeared despite that trade deal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not even Dickensian “A Christmas Carol” visitations by the specters of his father and an Indonesian business partner negotiating a project involving a sandstone reservoir with “significant extraction costs” diminish his concomitant guilt and chagrin.

From Los Angeles Times

“Ghost in the Machine: The Old Zoo” is just that, a site-specific interactive experience in which specters come to life via our mobile phones.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• demon
• shadow