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 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
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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
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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This appearance on Potomac only further highlighted his sketchy business practices, with his financial mismanagement casting a long shadow over his future endeavors.Shelby Stewart, Essence, 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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Reports of mysterious kicks on the seats of the building's Regal movie theater, eerie laughter and ghostly apparitions are frequently tied to the building.Madalyn Mendoza, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
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Since the 1920s, apparition of a young woman has been seen hitchhiking here, only to disappear when drivers come to her aid.Elizabeth Friend, Longreads, 29 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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