specter

noun

spec·​ter ˈspek-tər 

variants or spectre

1

: a visible disembodied spirit : ghost

2

: something that haunts or perturbs the mind : phantasm

the specter of hunger

Synonyms

• apparition
• bogey
• bogie
• bogy
• familiar spirit
• ghost
• hant [dialect]
• haunt [chiefly dialect]
• materialization
• phantasm
• fantasm
• phantom
• poltergeist
• shade
• shadow
• spirit
• spook
• sprite
• vision
• visitant
• wraith

Examples of specter in a Sentence

feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter

Recent Examples on the Web

Nevertheless, gun-rights proponents have a responsibility to raise the specter, regardless of its likelihood. —Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025

The blackout shook health researchers and providers and raised the specter of the Trump administration limiting what public health information Americans can see. —Maya Goldman, Axios, 3 Feb. 2025

The conflict now threatens to spiral, raising the specter of a replay of the two Congo wars — between 1996 and 1997, and 1998 and the early 2000s — which various researchers estimate led to 3 million to over 5 million deaths. —Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 31 Jan. 2025

Renewable energy critics still raise the specter of Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after receiving a $535-million federal loan. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French spectre, from Latin spectrum appearance, specter, from specere to look, look at — more at spy

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing specter

• raised the specter of
• the specter of (something)

Rhymes for specter

• hector
• lector
• nectar
• rector
• sector
• spectre
• vector
• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector

Kids Definition

specter

noun

spec·​ter

variants or spectre

ˈspek-tər 

1

: ghost

2

: something that bothers the mind