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

Examples of specter in a Sentence

feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter

Recent Examples on the Web

But with the specter of nuclear war, what India can achieve through military force is limited. —Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 18 May 2025

She’s still haunted by the specter of Dr. Gorst (Joshua James), the Imperial Security Bureau officer who tortured her. —Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025

Plus, in Qualcomm, the chip maker is facing a nimble new competitor in the laptop-CPU market (with the specter of that rival Nvidia/MediaTek N1X Arm-chip effort in the shadows). —Pcmag Staff, PC Magazine, 15 May 2025

Democrats in Congress have also raised the specter of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. —Nik Popli, Time, 14 May 2025

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

• raised the specter of
• the specter of (something)

Rhymes for specter

• hector
• lector
• nectar
• rector
• sector
• spectre
• vector
• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector

Kids Definition

specter

noun

spec·​ter

variants or spectre

ˈspek-tər 

1

: ghost

2

: something that bothers the mind