Showing results for "spectre"

• a variation of specter.

spectre

British  

/ ˈspɛktə /

noun

1. a ghost; phantom; apparition

2. a mental image of something unpleasant or menacing

   the spectre of redundancy

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Etymology

Origin of spectre

C17: from Latin spectrum, from specere to look at

Explanation

A spectre is a ghost or spirit. If you see a spectre of the previous owners in your new house, get out quick! A spectre can also be a thought that haunts you. The word spectre (or specter) has to do with being haunted — it can be something that literally haunts you, like the ghost of your Aunt Sally who bangs the windows every night. You can also say that a reminder of something painful is a spectre. A spectre can also be a fear of something dreadful happening in the future, like the spectre of a second ice age. Spectre is generally the British spelling, while Americans prefer specter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spectre

That figure raised the spectre of a technical recession -- when there are two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

He may not be at The Oval, but Stokes will remain a huge part of the story, his spectre hanging over an England team trying to deal with a mess of the captain's making.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

The move comes as the Iran war has sent aviation fuel prices soaring and raised the spectre of shortages during Europe's peak travel season.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

Critics have raised the spectre of "circular financing" deals in which investments by Nvidia in other companies may be clouding perceptions about how robust AI demand really is.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

But the spectre of delivering a speech brown-nosing the teachers jammed her imagination.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez