spectral

[ spek-truhl ]

/ ˈspɛk trəl /

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See synonyms for spectral on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or relating to a specter; ghostly; phantom.

resembling or suggesting a specter.

of, relating to, or produced by a spectrum or spectra.

resembling or suggesting a spectrum or spectra.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of spectral

First recorded in 1710–20; from Latin spectr(um) (see specter) + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM spectral

spec·tral·i·ty, spec·tral·ness, nounspec·tral·ly, adverbnon·spec·tral, adjectivenon·spec·tral·ly, adverb

non·spec·tral·i·ty, noun

Words nearby spectral

spectator sport, specter, spectinomycin, Spector, spectra, spectral, spectral line, spectral luminous efficiency, spectral series, spectral type, spectra yellow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spectral in a sentence

She is a leading expert in modeling potential habitable worlds and their detectable spectral fingerprint, which can be detected with the next generation of telescopes.
Where Aliens Could Be Watching Us - Issue 106: Intelligent Life|Lisa Kaltenegger|September 16, 2021|Nautilus
The monsters—writhing spectral figures, literally faceless women—are nothing we haven’t seen before.
Netflix Horror Noir Brand New Cherry Flavor Tastes Terrible|Judy Berman|August 6, 2021|Time
In the story, London is split between people with homes and those who live on the street, and again divided between human beings and a spectral race of aliens that has claimed the Square Mile as its own.
Politics and the pandemic have changed how we imagine cities|Joanne McNeil|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
In particular, the visible light shows spectral signatures of shock waves, which result when high-speed gas from a supernova slams into gas around it.
A gargantuan supernova remnant looks 40 times as big as the full moon|Ken Croswell|March 17, 2021|Science News

His brother Niles, also a psychiatrist, is, for a time, married to Maris, a spectral caricature who’s never seen on the show.
If your spirits need a boost, watch ‘Frasier’|Kathi Wolfe|August 13, 2020|Washington Blade
But Kasich and Walker face competitive re-elections; their national presence is spectral, their national potential speculative.
Why the GOP Needs a Return to the Bush Leagues|Robert Shrum|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Where the Austin building is nuanced and almost spectral, Bakersfield is all verve and gesture.
Obama's Building Boom: Will His Architecture Legacy Be as Lasting as FDR's?|Ian Volner|January 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
What a spectral and exaggerated shape all things take in her scared and over-excited gaze!
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Even as I looked I saw the features of a human countenance—and yet not human either, so spectral was it, so unreal and strange.
Uncanny Tales|Various
Our fellows were being hard beset to hold on to what they had won; there, where the horizon stood out with spectral luminosity.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Spectral shapes issue forth suddenly, and return as suddenly into the deep shade.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
Mist floated upward from marsh and lake; and through it the spectral palms loomed, drooping fronds embroidered with dew.
In Search of the Unknown|Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for spectral

spectral

/ (ˈspɛktrəl) /

adjective

of or like a spectre

of or relating to a spectrumspectral colours

physics (of a physical quantity) relating to a single wavelength of radiationspectral luminous efficiency

Derived forms of spectral

spectrality (spɛkˈtrælɪtɪ) or spectralness, nounspectrally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

spectral

Origin of spectral

OTHER WORDS FROM spectral

Words nearby spectral

Words related to spectral

How to use spectral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spectral

Derived forms of spectral