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
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
Twenty years ago, critic Mark Fisher described Burial’s Untrue as a kind of sonic hauntology, a montage of fractured breakbeats, spectral vocal fragments, and crackle collapsing past and future into a single, diffuse texture.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
And while the spectral profiles broadly fit, the observed temperatures and sheer brightness of LRDs hint at powerful winds that our current models for Supermassive Stars just don't fully capture yet.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026
The emitters also demonstrated strong spectral stability, addressing a key limitation in earlier designs where blinking and photobleaching reduced performance.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026
Twenty years ago, critic Mark Fisher described Burial’s Untrue as a kind of sonic hauntology, a montage of fractured breakbeats, spectral vocal fragments, and crackle collapsing past and future into a single, diffuse texture.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
And while the spectral profiles broadly fit, the observed temperatures and sheer brightness of LRDs hint at powerful winds that our current models for Supermassive Stars just don't fully capture yet.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026
The emitters also demonstrated strong spectral stability, addressing a key limitation in earlier designs where blinking and photobleaching reduced performance.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spectral
Adjective
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While its 209-minute runtime may be daunting, the film moves along at an entertaining clip (thanks in part to master editor Thelma Schoonmaker), and the viewer's patience is rewarded with a haunting conclusion that recontextualizes all that came before.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
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The 2019 overdose death of aspiring personal trainer Cody McLaury was found to have a haunting connection to Perry.—
Jack Hannah,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Sam’s silhouette is backlit by alternating reds and blues that evoke police lights (designed by Maximo Grano De Oro) while sound designer Satya Chávez contributes an eerie soundscape.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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Set against the eerie backdrop of a remote forest in Germany, the story follows a group of young Americans from the beauty and fashion industry attending a wellness retreat.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Then there’s the question of how and why Swalwell’s creepy and allegedly criminal behavior stayed hidden from public view for so long — especially when the impossible-to-miss fixture of cable TV embarked on a high-profile campaign to lead the nation’s most-populous state.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
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Despite some obvious physical scarring and a seeming predilection for contorting her body in creepy ways, Katie seems pretty healthy, or so the Egyptian doctors tell her parents.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The phantom page is usually a collection of additional content suggestions or a pop-up that tries to eke out a few more clicks from each visitor.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
14 Apr. 2026
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One of them is the aforementioned passerby in the corridor, known here as the Walking Man (Yamato Kochi), who, far from being just a phantom projection, winds up embarking on his own tragic adventure.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That, of course, and the occasional ghostly presences, unsettling cries, and blood dripping from the ceiling.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2026
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Avery Sullivan, with whom Morris also plays in the country-rock band Fust, keeps loose time on drums, tapping the snare like someone setting down coffee mugs while Libby Rodenbough scrapes out a few melody lines on her fiddle and colors empty spaces with some ghostly tremolo.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This had to be a weird clerical mistake.—
John McPhee,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Her idea of architecture has always been a little weird.—
Jerry Saltz,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But the everyday cowboy problems get intertwined with something more menacing — possibly supernatural — when Abbott discovers an ominous black void on his property.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
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The project will be a reimagining of the 2017 film, which centers on a police officer and a series of paranormal researchers and investigators who attempt to get to the bottom of supernatural occurrences that are centered in one neighborhood in Buenos Aires.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spectral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spectral. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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