specter

noun

ˈspek-tər How to pronounce specter (audio)
variants or spectre
Definition of specternext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of specter That stance had raised the specter of Ukraine and Europe having to stand up to Russian aggression alone. — ABC News, 29 July 2026 Testifying before Congress raised the specter that Fauci could be accused anew of lying — potentially opening the door to efforts by his foes to prosecute him. — Helen Branswell, STAT, 29 July 2026 What audiences see, bathed in stage lighting, is a virtual Cerati materialize almost like a specter that’s just walked through a portal from the great beyond. — Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 And perhaps most importantly, the specter of eugenics reared its ugly head in medical triage protocols, and the devaluing of lives deemed less worthy than others. — Kenny Fries, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for specter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specter
  1. apparition
  2. ghost
  3. spirit
  4. phantom
Noun
  • That is, until miraculous apparitions turn it into a place to be.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • The music starts to shift beginning with the third episode, when Lestat becomes overwhelmed by the apparition of his abusive maker and other ghosts, including Claudia, whose killing he’d been forced to witness firsthand.
    — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Definition of apparition
Noun
  • Crow-Armstrong’s single to center leading off the 11th sent Kelly, the ghost runner, home from second.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • There’s ghosts, there’s futures, there’s residue in this building—there’s sweat from colonial histories that reside in brick and concrete for centuries.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of ghost
Noun
  • In that spirit, don’t expect to see superstars such as Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw or Nick Bosa.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The backstory L’Auberge Carmel, a Relais & Châteaux property, was built in 1929 as a commission for Allen Knight, an adventurer and author, as a way to bring together the artistic spirit of Carmel-by-the-Sea and European traditions.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of spirit
Noun
  • On the 1994 comeback album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, Sparks imagined Liberace, who died in 1987, making his own comeback in the afterlife, adored again as a phantom haunting the Earth.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 31 July 2026
  • Left behind are her great-grandmother’s haunting journals detailing the story of her own phantom, and subsequently, her brutal murder.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 25 July 2026
Definition of phantom

Browse Nearby Words

spectators
specter
specters
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Cite this Entry

“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on specter

Nglish: Translation of specter for Spanish Speakers

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