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

Trump’s order includes a mechanism to escalate the rates charged by the U.S. against retaliation by the other countries, raising the specter of an even more severe economic disruption. —Christopher Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025

The underlying heartbreak of Oakland losing the A’s, the empty Coliseum next door and the specter of moves to Sacramento and Las Vegas was for the most part kept in the background. —Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2025

Putin and various Russian officials have frequently raised the specter of nuclear escalation. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025

The specter of a federal prosecutor putting a city’s mayor or a state’s governor in jail will raise what may be the greatest source of conflict in the U.S. Constitution. —Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 27 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)

Kids Definition

specter

noun

spec·​ter

variants or spectre

ˈspek-tər 

1

: ghost

2

: something that bothers the mind