specter

spec·ter

noun \ˈspek-tər\

Definition of SPECTER

1

: a visible disembodied spirit : ghost

2

: something that haunts or perturbs the mind : phantasm <the specter of hunger>

Variants of SPECTER

spec·ter or spec·tre \ˈspek-tər\

Examples of SPECTER

1. <feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter>

Origin of SPECTER

French spectre, from Latin spectrum appearance, specter, from specere to look, look at — more at spy

First Known Use: 1605

Related to SPECTER

Synonyms

apparition, bogey (also bogie or bogy), familiar spirit, hant [dialect], haunt [chiefly dialect], materialization, phantasm (also fantasm), phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, ghost (or spectre), spirit, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith

Related Words

angel, daimon, familiar, genie, genius, jinni (or jinn also djinni or djinn), shaitan; double, doppelgänger (or doppelganger), fetch; lemures, manes; incubus, lamia, succubus, vampire, zombie (also zombi); cacodemon, demon (or daemon), devil, fiend, ghoul, imp

Other Occult Terms

augury, censor, invocation, lucidity, metempsychosis, mojo, numinous, preternatural, weird, wraith

Rhymes with SPECTER

hector, lector, nectar, rector, sector, vector