specter

noun spec·ter \ ˈspek-tər \

variants: or spectre

Updated on: 24 Apr 2018

Definition of specter

1 : a visible disembodied spirit : ghost

2 : something that haunts or perturbs the mind : phantasm

the specter of hunger

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Examples of specter in a Sentence

feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter

Recent Examples of specter from the Web

Living under the specter of a delicate power grid has forced many to adapt.

— james wagner, New York Times, "Power Is Back in Puerto Rico, but the Frustration Remains," 19 Apr. 2018
There was a weird, sticky odor that hung in the air like a specter.

— michael a. gonzales, The Root, "Roses," 25 Mar. 2018
Those days ended decades ago, but now transportation officials are raising the specter of a Big Apple-Berkshires rail connection again, as soon as 2019.

— adam vaccaro, BostonGlobe.com, "A Berkshires-NYC train service could relaunch by 2019," 27 Mar. 2018
Regardless, the continuing conversation in the media about the case is an ongoing public relations headache for Team Sky, and the specter of having its top racer excluded in July heaps more pressure and scrutiny on the British team.

— aaron gulley, Outside Online, "Will the Tour de France Really Bar Froome?," 27 Mar. 2018
Government representatives persuaded him to abandon his presidential ambitions, raising the specter of legal proceedings over alleged corruption during his tenure as civil aviation minister, according to numerous, unconfirmed reports.

— Fox News, "Egypt vote overshadowed by missing contenders," 26 Mar. 2018
But, for some in Haiti, the new military raises the specter of the old military, a force that roamed the streets of Haiti in the 80s and 90s crushing dissent.

— jacqueline charles, miamiherald, "Haiti has a new army with much of the old leadership. Some in the U.S. aren’t happy | Miami Herald," 26 Mar. 2018
But the populist specter, which is haunting so much of Europe, has been exorcised from the U.K. body politic.

— fraser nelson, WSJ, "The U.K. Is Doing Just Fine, Thanks," 23 Mar. 2018
With the specter of communism at its doorstep, the Thai conservative establishment curbed the postwar experiment of civilian democratic rule in its quest for stability.

— amar diwakar, The New Republic, "Saffron Curtain: How Buddhism Was Weaponized During the Cold War," 23 Mar. 2018

These 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.