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

Analysts note Mamdani’s promises to raise corporate taxes and income taxes on millionaires and freeze rents raise the specter of a leftward shift for America’s biggest city. —Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025

The decision to close the waterway now rests with the country's national security council, and its possibility has raised the specter of higher energy prices and aggravated geopolitical tensions, with Washington calling upon Beijing to prevent the strait's closure. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 23 June 2025

He's also raised the specter of targeting the supreme leader himself. —ABC News, 22 June 2025

For many adults, recent events in the United States have been raising the specter of authoritarianism — chiefly, policies targeting specific groups of people. —Christine Dimattei, Sun Sentinel, 18 June 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