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 of specter

• apparition
• ghost
• spirit
• phantom

Examples of specter in a Sentence

feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter

Recent Examples on the Web

In Sequences, the specter of death looms large, the space between life and death, Michals would suggest wasn’t all the separate but perhaps a never-ending cycle. —Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 11 June 2026

African diasporic people’s contentious history with these formations of motherhood create specters of separation as reproductive injustice. —Literary Hub, 8 June 2026

Their involvement now raises the specter of another squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by closures on the Strait of Hormuz and partly reliant on the Red Sea as an alternative passageway for energy supplies. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026

Trump is a friend of UFC boss Dana White and an investor in UFC stock, raising the specter of a conflict of interest. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 June 2026

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