variants
or spectre
as in apparition
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
feeling so terrified that every shadow became a specter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of specter
Now, the specter of genocide and famine haunts the region once again.
—
Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026
Every song becomes a seance, every bump in the night turns into evidence of a specter.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026
The specter of her crush never leaves.
—Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
In March, Polymarket quietly took down a bet on whether a nuclear weapon would be detonated before this year, raising the specter that the site was blatantly incentivizing nuclear conflict.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for specter
Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026
Every song becomes a seance, every bump in the night turns into evidence of a specter.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Apr. 2026
The specter of her crush never leaves.
—Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
In March, Polymarket quietly took down a bet on whether a nuclear weapon would be detonated before this year, raising the specter that the site was blatantly incentivizing nuclear conflict.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for specter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specter
Noun
-
There certainly seem to be apparitions in this music, some presence apart from the four musicians and the throngs of fans, which is intensified by the visceral collision of so many sounds.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Those themes are alive here, as the ghosts who visit Depp’s Scrooge are intricate, terrifying apparitions not suitable for the whole family.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Money was counted daily, spoken of incessantly, felt in its paucity like a ghost in each room.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
-
That doesn’t mean the ghosts here aren’t scary.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There was more spirit, resilience and fight against Roberto De Zerbi’s side than Wolves had displayed in the second half of the 4-0 defeat at West Ham and almost the entirety of the 3-0 reverse at Leeds United.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The yarns of Joe Turner interweave gradually, everyday chit-chat, bargaining, and flirtation interlocking over time with threads of mysticism — both the ghosts of a brutal history and the ancestral spirits that stand protective and defiant like a phalanx of angels with shining swords.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The Stygiomedusa gigantea, commonly known as the giant phantom jelly, was filmed at 250 meters below the surface.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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