spectacle
54
4.6
- noun
- /ˈspɛktəkl/
- Informal
:
ridículo
- The case was such a spectacle.
- make a spectacle of yourself
- a public spectacle
That creates the political spectacle that leads to more Republican support.
- That creates the political spectacle that leads to more Republican support.
- The Constitution does not require this sort of spectacle.
- The worst thing I've seen, I think, has been the spectacle of unaccommodated man.
- So you have the farcical spectacle, not so much in that video, but in other instances.
- So he loves this kind of spectacle and also the the meme of it, the hilarious absurdity of it.
Examples
-
I hope you realize that you've made a perfect spectacle of yourself.
-
Soon this hope was replaced by a spectacle as distressing as it was dangerous.
Fiction book (1994) -
And you see this sad spectacle over and over and over again.
-
You simply have to make a spectacle of killing one person or two.
-
You're making a spectacle of yourself.
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This just seems like a unnecessary spectacle you're doing for attention.
-
Thus this grim spectacle repeated itself across the Empire and beyond.
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This depraved and degrading spectacle must stop now.
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My students and I were quite shaken by the spectacle and distressed by the crowd's attitude.
Academic text (1990) -
He made a complete spectacle of himself during the meeting, shouting and waving his arms.
Synonyms
199
4.1
A public display of loud or angry behaviour that embarrasses others
17
6.0
Too much fuss about something small
A performance that tries to get attention by being loud or dramatic
Antonyms
How Embarrassing
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spectacle comes from the Latin root spect- meaning 'to look'. A helpful way to remember this sense is that a 'spectacle' is something that makes people look, so if you 'make a spectacle' of yourself you create a sight that everyone stares at, often in a silly or embarrassing way.