variants
or spectre
as in haunt
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
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Recent Examples of specter
Never has the encroaching specter of lore been more apparent than this weekend’s Snow White.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
But people in this part of the state have fresh and raw memories of the specter of condemnation that hung over the U.S. Army’s plan to expand its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, northeast of Trinidad, nearly 20 years ago.
—John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2025
The specter of Moscow also hung over demonstrations in support of the EU in neighboring Romania.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
This has prompted advocates to suggest the specter of violence is being used as a pretext for violating civil rights.
—David Noriega, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for specter
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
But people in this part of the state have fresh and raw memories of the specter of condemnation that hung over the U.S. Army’s plan to expand its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, northeast of Trinidad, nearly 20 years ago.
—John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2025
The specter of Moscow also hung over demonstrations in support of the EU in neighboring Romania.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
This has prompted advocates to suggest the specter of violence is being used as a pretext for violating civil rights.
—David Noriega, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for specter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specter
Noun
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In my experience, clarity now becomes a key factor in how long fish will stay in their high-water haunts.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
3 Apr. 2025
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Ray scopes out the old haunts and doesn’t find much outside confirmation that the killer Aryan meth-running biker gang is still on the hunt for both of them.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Except he’s lured there in the dead of winter, presumably called once more by the ghosts of children killed by violence in years past.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
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All these pieces suggested that artists today are grappling with the ghosts of American history, giving a visual language to specters that some might prefer not to see.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Chantel Christie-Jeffries, the daughter of Jackie Christie, steps out of her mother’s shadow and into the fire, raising the stakes for a family dynamic already rich with tension.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
3 Apr. 2025
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Musk’s outsize support of Trump was always a political risk, but his decision to come aboard the administration and, at one time, position himself as a kind of shadow president is arguably the biggest bet of his career.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The before-and-after pictures still astound: a skeletal wraith on the left, a rosy-cheeked child on the right.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 May 2015
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Agatha is also being pursued by her ex, Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), a powerful green witch, as well as the Salem Seven, vengeful wraiths of Agatha's first coven.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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To combat such phantoms, Georgian Dream has passed new legislation that criminalizes assembly and protest.—
Anastasiya Zavyalova,
The Conversation,
28 Mar. 2025
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Kevin Willard’s team had to confront the phantom that had haunted it through a quartet of Big Ten heartbreakers.—
Childs Walker,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Subsequently, a spy for the U.S. inside Vladimir Putin’s regime was extracted on fears Trump and his team were being sloppy with the nation’s secrets and could put the spook at risk.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Mar. 2025
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George gets a tip from a fellow agency spook that there’s a rat in the house.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Todd, the neighbor, even the strange apparitions are obfuscated simply because of their height, which adds to the eerieness of Indy’s experience but also makes Indy’s recognition of Todd’s voice all the more emotional.—
Rafael Motamayor,
IndieWire,
10 Mar. 2025
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In the writer-director’s latest horror flick, The Monkey, there is no malignant apparition, and death doesn’t lurk or stalk.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Specter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specter. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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