as in haunting
of, relating to, or suggestive of a ghost
They spotted a spectral figure in the window of the old abandoned house.
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Recent Examples of spectral
In the photographs taken that day, Bruce has a spectral beauty, as if conjured out of the air.
—
Andrew Durbin, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
The installation puts people inside that spectral array of color to capture the essence of those sunrises and sunsets.
—Niyaz Pirani, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Whatever the full truth of either description (anyone paying attention that November a few years ago soon realized only Wall Street cheered his comeback), I’d argue Altman at this point in his pop-culture evolution has transcended both those designations and any spectral stops in between.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026
What starts as a spectral curiosity becomes a terrifying and growing presence with an insatiable hunger that begins to consume her life.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Andrew Durbin, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
The installation puts people inside that spectral array of color to capture the essence of those sunrises and sunsets.
—Niyaz Pirani, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Whatever the full truth of either description (anyone paying attention that November a few years ago soon realized only Wall Street cheered his comeback), I’d argue Altman at this point in his pop-culture evolution has transcended both those designations and any spectral stops in between.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026
What starts as a spectral curiosity becomes a terrifying and growing presence with an insatiable hunger that begins to consume her life.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spectral
Adjective
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Harris spares audiences the bloody image, but the sound of the boy’s imploring shrieks is nevertheless haunting.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
-
This record remains one of the most haunting depictions of paranoia and psychological distress in Hip-Hop history.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
Moulin steers her to the work of Giorgio De Chirico, whose eerie paintings foreshadow where the film is going.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
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For a few fleeting minutes, observers inside the moon’s dark central shadow — the umbra — will see the sun completely covered, revealing the spectacular solar corona and plunging landscapes into an eerie twilight.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Hopkins turned in a tour de force creepy performance that presaged his Oscar-winning work in The Silence of the Lambs years later.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
-
An empty shoe can also come to host a creepy crawler.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Why phantom income matters Phantom income can create a mismatch between your company’s (or your household’s) tax liability versus its cash flow.—
byDoug Ashburn,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
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Per 9News, the phantom warrant seems to trace back to a data entry error in a warrant issued out of Gilpin County, Colorado.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Here, the ghostly remnants of a grain mill; there, the campus of a global food company.—
Dan Barry,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
-
Bryce Dallas Howard is getting ghostly.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tom always found something deeper, more creative, more thoughtful, weird, fun & unique.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
18 May 2026
-
So that’s weird for Kickstarter.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Following its buzzy premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Focus Features acquired the $750,000 indie for $15 million, with critics and audiences praising its bold take on supernatural horror.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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As the entity begins hunting them down one by one, the film blends supernatural terror with the precarity, exploitation and invisibility of immigrant labor.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spectral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spectral. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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