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

• haunt [chiefly dialect]
• ghost
• shadow
• wraith
• phantom
• spook
• apparition

Examples of specter in a Sentence

feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter

Recent Examples on the Web

Everyone tried to act loose with the specter of elimination looming over everything. —Matt Gelb, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

Israel, Hamas, and the US dispatched delegations to Egypt for negotiations over a Gaza peace plan, raising the specter of a potential end to the brutal two-year war. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2025

With glowing eyes, a chilling Vincent Price-style voice (delivering deliciously cheesy dialogue), and four points of ghostly animatronic movement, this bony specter is every bit the haunted showstopper. —PC Magazine, 3 Oct. 2025

Satellite imagery, Pentagon releases, and ship tracking reports reveal stealth jets, Marines, and naval vessels poised across Puerto Rico and the eastern Caribbean, raising the specter of escalating tensions that some say could be the opening moves of a broader confrontation. —John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 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