adjective
-
of or like a spectre
-
of or relating to a spectrum
spectral colours
-
physics (of a physical quantity) relating to a single wavelength of radiation
spectral luminous efficiency
Other Word Forms
- nonspectral adjective
- nonspectrality noun
- nonspectrally adverb
- spectrality noun
- spectrally adverb
- spectralness noun
Etymology
Origin of spectral
First recorded in 1710–20; from Latin spectr(um) ( specter ) + -al 1
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.
They writhed in the air like giant spectral snakes.
From Literature
Those spectra tracked changing signatures in the ejected gas, and new spectral features matched up with structures seen in the interferometric images, providing a direct one-to-one confirmation of how the flows were forming and colliding.
From Science Daily
Measurements show that this distant supernova closely matches the brightness and spectral features of SN 1998bw, a well known supernova linked to a gamma ray burst that exploded much closer to Earth.
From Science Daily
Here are a few personal favorites, beginning with three from Mike Flanagan, TV’s master spinner of spectral tales.
From Los Angeles Times
It felt very spectral and almost phantasmagorical and certainly not a depiction of a truth.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
