Thesaurus results for SPECTER

specter

noun

ˈspek-tər

variants or spectre

Definition of specter

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 Newsom said Mansfield, because of budget shortfalls, was facing the specter of staff reductions and school closures. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Oct. 2026 Organizations shouldn’t treat the specter of breach monetization as separate from the threat model. — Steve Durbin, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026 This conclusion drives home that Chris will never be able to fully vanquish evil; he’ll be stuck in a loop, eternally pursuing this specter. — Samantha Bergeson, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026 Still, the specter of AI agents operating freely on the internet raises alarming possibilities, regardless of their objectives. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for specter

Recent Examples of Synonyms for specter

Noun

Title granted to the Virgin Mary in honor of her apparitions to three shepherd children (Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto and Venerable Lucia dos Santos) in Fátima, Portugal, in 1917.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
The location was a former sugarcane plantation notorious for cruelty, and accounts of apparitions in the water are a reminder of this history.

— Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of apparition

Noun

In her first sketch, Navarrette and Hernandez played the ghost of a couple of 1930s kids on the Queen Mary who keep distracting a tourist from hearing where another ghost’s treasure is hidden.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2026
All parties, that is, except for Oluko, who has emerged as a late-breaking villain and ghost in the machine.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of ghost

Noun

As the frightening phantom of Frank the Bunny warns, this parallel reality has a ticking clock that’ll result in its imminent collapse in just 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Fadal brought up her own phantom smells during a recent podcast conversation with Andrea Donsky, a nutritionist who’s written about and conducted research on this symptom.

— Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of phantom

Browse Nearby Words

spectators

specter

specters

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Style

“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of specter

noun

Example Sentences

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