the specter of (something)

idiom

: a notion or fear of something bad that might happen in the future

a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war

News of the disease raised the specter of a possible plague.

Examples of the specter of (something) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As the specter of Lestat, Reid is more alluring and more unhinged than he’s ever been. —Alison Herman, Variety, 12 May 2024

Megeve mayor Jullien-Brèches is skeptical that the depreciation will be that substantial, citing low snow levels in recent years and the specter of climate change. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 8 May 2024

Finally, there is the specter of fake songs, generated by artificial intelligence. —C. Brandon Ogbunu, WIRED, 6 May 2024

Their nerves are further jangled by the specter of a serial killer based in the area 40 years earlier, some of whose victims were never found. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 May 2024

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza have disrupted global trade, and rising tension in China about its economy and, particularly, its relationship with Taiwan, have raised the specter of severe upheaval. —Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024

Moscow’s forces have already been pushing in several directions in recent weeks, raising the specter of a possible attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. —Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024

Now, a series of hot inflation, retail sales, and labor market reports—along with brewing conflict in the Middle East that raises the specter of an oil price spike—have made Powell and his fellow Fed officials rapidly change their tone. —Will Daniel, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve composed the original song for the limited series that stars Harvey Keitel, Melanie Lynskey, Jonah Hauer-King, Anna Próchniak and Jonas Nay, and which Streisand recorded to in part recall the memory of the Holocaust and the specter of antisemitism resurfacing again. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024