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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter
Recent Examples on the Web State power officials also urged people to conserve electricity and raised the specter of rolling power outages. 
Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Aug. 2022 There is also the specter of Biden issuing an executive order to cancel student loans en masse, at tremendous cost to taxpayers. Preston Cooper, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Hanging over his seven-minute session Wednesday with reporters, however, was the specter of two uncomfortable absences. Jonas Shaffer, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2022 Another source of irritation for delegates was the specter of Democrats changing their party registration to impact the Republican vote. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2022 So there there is a specter of nuclear war, the prospect for at least a third nuclear war that hangs over the current crisis and is clearly influencing decision making, at least on on the part of NATO. CBS News, 23 Mar. 2022 What's certain to return is the specter now following a club that's squandered a No. 1 seed, which should be a massive advantage, in both years since the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff field. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2022 Deadly tenement conflagrations are largely a thing of the past in Los Angeles, but the encampment is a specter haunting homeowners across the county. Piper French, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2021 Lurking in the background of every discussion on embryo selection and ethics is the specter of eugenics. Laura Hercher, Scientific American, 12 July 2021 See More
Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Aug. 2022 There is also the specter of Biden issuing an executive order to cancel student loans en masse, at tremendous cost to taxpayers. Preston Cooper, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Hanging over his seven-minute session Wednesday with reporters, however, was the specter of two uncomfortable absences. Jonas Shaffer, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2022 Another source of irritation for delegates was the specter of Democrats changing their party registration to impact the Republican vote. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2022 So there there is a specter of nuclear war, the prospect for at least a third nuclear war that hangs over the current crisis and is clearly influencing decision making, at least on on the part of NATO. CBS News, 23 Mar. 2022 What's certain to return is the specter now following a club that's squandered a No. 1 seed, which should be a massive advantage, in both years since the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff field. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2022 Deadly tenement conflagrations are largely a thing of the past in Los Angeles, but the encampment is a specter haunting homeowners across the county. Piper French, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2021 Lurking in the background of every discussion on embryo selection and ethics is the specter of eugenics. Laura Hercher, Scientific American, 12 July 2021 See More 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
Kids Definition
specter
noun
spec·ter
variants or spectre
ˈspek-tər
1
: ghost
2
: something that haunts or bothers the mind
the specter of starvation
specter
noun
variants or spectre
as in ghost
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
Relevance
- ghost
- haunt
- shadow
- wraith
- phantom
- spook
- apparition
- phantasm
- zombie
- ghoul
- vision
- poltergeist
- demon
- materialization
- spirit
- vampire
- bogy
- bogey
- sprite
- visitant
- familiar spirit
- daimon
- hant
- zombi
- familiar
- shade
- fantasm
- double
- bogie
- doppelgänger
- angel
- genie
- doppelganger
- incubus
- jinn
- jinni
- lemures
- shaitan
- fetch
- succubus
- lamia
- djinn
- imp
- genius
- djinni
- manes
- devil
- cacodemon
- fiend
- daemon
- recognizability
- recognizable
- recognizably
- recognizance
- recognizances
- recognizant
- recognize
- recognized
- recognizedly
- recognizee
- recognizer
- recognizers
- recognizes
- recognizing
- recognizingly
- recognosce
- recoil
- recoil click
- recoil cylinder
- recoil escapement
- recoil pad
- recoil spring
- recoil-operated
- recoiled
- recoilers