the specter of (something)
idiom
: a notion or fear of something bad that might happen in the future
a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war
News of the disease raised the specter of a possible plague.
Examples of the specter of (something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shivaan Tandon, markets economist at Capital Economics, said that South Korea’s externally facing sectors, such as trade, are likely to struggle as global trade growth softens under the specter of tariffs.
—
Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 23 July 2025
But there was also something distorted about the ritual denunciations of Trump, which inevitably invoked the specter of white colonialism.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Daily News, 16 July 2025
In the bottom of the ninth, two quick outs by Tigers raised the specter of extra innings, and possibly a chaotic comeback for the A’s.
—Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 11 July 2025
Travel restrictions on 19 countries signed last month mainly focused on Africa and the Middle East, with the specter of restrictions on 25 more African countries looming large in Washington.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 9 July 2025
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Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 23 July 2025
But there was also something distorted about the ritual denunciations of Trump, which inevitably invoked the specter of white colonialism.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Daily News, 16 July 2025
In the bottom of the ninth, two quick outs by Tigers raised the specter of extra innings, and possibly a chaotic comeback for the A’s.
—Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 11 July 2025
Travel restrictions on 19 countries signed last month mainly focused on Africa and the Middle East, with the specter of restrictions on 25 more African countries looming large in Washington.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for the specter of (something)
Cite this Entry
“The specter of (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20specter%20of%20%28something%29. Accessed 2 Aug. 2025.
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