specter
30
8.2
- noun
- /ˈspɛktər/
- US
:
espectro
- The specter of failure loomed over her as she prepared for the important presentation.
- raise the specter
- haunted by the specter
- specter of shortages
So this is a specter over your choice to participate.
- So this is a specter over your choice to participate.
- So what are your thoughts on a healthy view of marriage that includes the possible specter of separation?
- And this is compared with humans ability to have this sort of protracted ambient kind of spectre of stress that's going on.
- But, you know, I mean, his specter is at every part of CNN, at least it used to be.
- We've also got the new spectre, which I've been talking about for some time of, you know, it's it's sad and it's dangerous.
- He engages in so much innuendo trying to raise the specter that she's working at the behest of the CIA.
Examples
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"It's not just the specter of a trade war I worry about, "it's our loss of influence globally."
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Well, this is how I mourn and distract myself from the looming specter of Death.
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So this is a specter over your choice to participate.
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For we cannot today, or ever, let the specter of evil overcome the hope of a better tomorrow.
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I'm being haunted by the specter of my former lover.
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There was the fear now of the specter of slave insurrection.
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Together, these two trends raise the frightening specter of nuclear terrorism.
Academic text (2008) -
Ladies and gentlemen, there's a specter haunting the Internet.
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For Pope Benedict, growing up in Germany and facing the specter of fascism was a powerful part of his history.
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When you raise the specter of a fascist threat, it justifies taking extraordinary measures to suppress that threat.
Synonyms
116
6.1
A faint memory or feeling from the past that affects you
7
8.2
A memory or feeling from the past that makes you feel uneasy
3
7.7
A memory that returns and makes you feel afraid
1
9.9
A disturbing memory that stays in a person's mind
Compounds
A strong, worrying feeling that you are not sure you can trust someone or something
How Troubling
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word specter comes from the Latin spectrum and the root spec- meaning 'an appearance' and 'to look'. That's why a troubling memory is called a specter: it is like a ghostly 'appearance' that keeps coming back in your mind.