specter
noun
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Definition of specter
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Synonyms for specter
Synonyms
apparition, bogey (also bogie), familiar spirit, ghost, materialization, phantasm (also fantasm), phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, spirit, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith
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Examples of specter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The specter of 2016's vote was cited repeatedly by speakers during Monday's meeting. — Lily Altavena, azcentral, "Mesa approves lease to bring ASU to its downtown," 4 June 2018 Like every other team out west, the Rockets have operated for the past four years under the Warriors' specter. — Lee Jenkins, SI.com, "Big Hearts and Short Fuses: Draymond Green Doesn't Believe in Switch-Flipping," 16 May 2018 Nigeria’s past, present and future converge in these stories, where the relationships between mothers and daughters often play a central role; many stories linger under the specter of war. — Joumana Khatib, New York Times, "Paperback Row," 20 Apr. 2018 The ghosts that haunt Boise's El Korah Shrine Temple are about as predictable as specters get. — Maria L. La Ganga, idahostatesman, "What’s behind ’60s-era paneling at El Korah Shrine? A ballroom’s worth of ’20s art.," 12 July 2018 The specter who’s about to change our future will look just like America’s past. — Rebecca Traister, The Cut, "With Brett Kavanaugh, Trump Passes Up the Chance to Have a Woman Do His Dirty Work," 9 July 2018 The Soviet Union, a global superpower, disintegrated, and the specter of communism was exorcised from the continent. — Jonathan Bradley, Billboard, "Dream Up the World You're Gonna Live In: How U2's 'Zooropa' Got the Future Wrong, 25 Years Later," 5 July 2018 The specter of a potential collapse has been hanging over Germany’s grand coalition for weeks. — Philipp Adorf, Washington Post, "Angela Merkel’s governing alliance is increasingly frayed. Here’s why.," 3 July 2018 The specter of navigating James in the Western Conference is an immediate shot across the bow of every team besides Golden State and Houston, who won’t and shouldn’t be panicking. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "Examining the Biggest Ripple Effects of LeBron James's Decision to Join Lakers," 1 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'specter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
The History Behind 8 Halloween Words
The History Behind 8 Halloween Words
These words haunt us
Dictionary Entries near specter
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Statistics for specter
Last Updated
8 Oct 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for specter
The first known use of specter was in 1605
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More Definitions for specter
specter
noun
English Language Learners Definition of specter
: a ghost or spirit of a dead person
See the full definition for specter in the English Language Learners Dictionary
specter
nounKids Definition of specter
1 : ghost
2 : something that haunts or bothers the mind the specter of starvation
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