variants
or spectre
as in haunt
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of specter
Are these psychosomatic symptoms, specters conjured by her miserable brain?
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Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
While consumers are opening their wallets to shop, there is some question as to whether the sales gains retailers are reporting will continue through the holiday and into next year due to the specter of higher tariffs when President-elect Donald Trump gets back into the White House.
—David Moin, WWD, 3 Dec. 2024
He’s enjoyed the specter of games in Buffalo, from unpredictable weather to a rabid fan base.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2024
As Ukraine’s military struggles with battlefield setbacks and dwindling morale, the specter of a peace deal promised by President-elect Donald Trump has added another layer of uncertainty.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for specter 
Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
While consumers are opening their wallets to shop, there is some question as to whether the sales gains retailers are reporting will continue through the holiday and into next year due to the specter of higher tariffs when President-elect Donald Trump gets back into the White House.
—David Moin, WWD, 3 Dec. 2024
He’s enjoyed the specter of games in Buffalo, from unpredictable weather to a rabid fan base.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2024
As Ukraine’s military struggles with battlefield setbacks and dwindling morale, the specter of a peace deal promised by President-elect Donald Trump has added another layer of uncertainty.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for specter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specter
Noun
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The quirky schoolhouse homestead that took the Internet by storm This former elementary school was once a repository for apples, a barn that housed turkeys and even a haunt for a ghost.Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Dec. 2024
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The popular business has long been a favorite haunt of the LBGTQ+ community but is a welcoming community watering hole for all.Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 18 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Kelly Clarkson isn’t visiting any ghosts of Christmas past this holiday season.Latoya Gayle, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
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This lounge has custom drinks with the best names (my favorite was Happily Never After), and every corner has been themed to the classic Disney attraction, from the wallpaper with eyes to the hitchhiking ghosts in the mirror.Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Such a rare and spectacular celestial event occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth—and our beloved satellite casts a shadow over a patch beneath it, creating darkness during the day.Joe Spring, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024
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Sadler said a masked man had appeared out of the shadows.Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Many slide hopelessly back into lives as nearly invisible wraiths, measured in the intervals between fixes — and arrests.Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Dec. 2024
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Discovery, two of the bigger owners of these cable-network wraiths, haven’t had much to show for keeping them up and running.Brian Steinberg, Variety, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The Wizard of Oz Effect In the movie The Wizard of Oz, there’s a scene where the protagonist, Dorothy, and her band of misfits are seeking the great and powerful Oz, an amorphous wizard who appears as a phantom atop an explosion of smoke.Steve Tengler, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Ghosts has slowly been expanding its world over four seasons to introduce its stalwart spirits to a whole host of new phantoms.Katie Campione, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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But that didn’t stop Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, the Netflix Christmas spy thriller now streaming, from encumbering star Keira Knightley as dedicated wife and professional spook Helen Webb with Ben Whishaw‘s Sam Young, a fellow spy and assassin, in all matters of love and relationships.Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
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Outside of Phoenix, Western theme park Old Tucson is delivering spooks with its Nightfall at Old Tucson event that includes haunted mazes, roaming scares and magic shows.Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Our hopes for the power of small transformations may be misplaced, while the power of the sudden apparition—The drones are here!Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
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La Virgen had made apparitions to Juan Diego between Dec. 9-12, 1531 on Mexico City’s hill of Tepeyac in between tending to an ailing uncle.Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near specter
Cite this Entry
“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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