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

Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve composed the original song for the limited series that stars Harvey Keitel, Melanie Lynskey, Jonah Hauer-King, Anna Próchniak and Jonas Nay, and which Streisand recorded to in part recall the memory of the Holocaust and the specter of antisemitism resurfacing again. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024

That raised the specter of a conflict regional in scope and possibly catastrophic in its aftermath. —CNN, 13 Apr. 2024

The volatility of the campaign — with its racial undertones and potential for misleading information, despite some companies having policies against such acts — and the specter of Trump returning to the White House can take a toll on Black voters, Sherrod said. —Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2024

Some of the justices raised the specter of military officers forcing a crisis by declaring that the president was disqualified from office and not empowered to give them orders. —The Editors, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024

Though the specter of what could have been hovers over the game, the Huskies are formidable in their quest for a record-extending 12th national championship with their own star guard. —Ben Morse, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024

McBaine admits the specter of this case loomed large. —Jon Niccum, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024

Like The American Society of Magical Negroes, the film is concerned with the specter of racist violence. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024

Two elementary schools had merged and, at the time, the specter of other closures loomed. —Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2024