the specter of (something)

idiom

: a notion or fear of something bad that might happen in the future

a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war

News of the disease raised the specter of a possible plague.

Examples of the specter of (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s worth digging into without the specter of every underwhelming special occasion hanging over the conversation. —R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 1 Nov. 2024

And through it all, the specter of Lewis’ bloody face hangs over her, a grisly harbinger of doom amid the endless meet-and-greets and dress rehearsals. —Abby Monteil, Them, 23 Oct. 2024

Combs is facing several other lawsuits already underway and the specter of many more allegedly due to be filed. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2024

And while the specter of Mach’s Haitian ancestry is never far from reach, Pray for Haiti also plays like his witty facsimile of a rap star. —Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024