noun
Meaning 1
A ghostly apparition, a phantom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Examples
- A specter haunted the cemetery at the old Vasquez manor.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: wraith, spook
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
specter
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American: /ˈspɛktɚ/
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General-American: spĕkʹtər
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈspɛktə/
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Received-Pronunciation: spĕkʹtə
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛktə(ɹ)
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CMU ARPABET: S P EH1 K T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A threatening mental image; an unpleasant prospect
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, figuratively
Examples
- The specter of an election-vote recount is this year's political bogeyman.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Any of certain species of dragonfly of the genus Boyeria, family Aeshnidae.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Topics: biology, entomology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Any of various species of Asian danaid butterflies of the genus Idea, family Nymphalidae.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US
Topics: biology, entomology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
a mental representation of some haunting experience
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he looked like he had seen a ghost
- it aroused specters from his past
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ghost, shade, spook, wraith, spectre
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, shadow
noun
Meaning 6
a ghostly appearing figure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, spectre
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: spirit, disembodied spirit
Narrower terms: Flying Dutchman
History
Etymology
From Middle French spectre, from Latin spectrum (“appearance, apparition”). Doublet of spectrum.
Across languages
Translations
71 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Albanian: abe — ghostly apparition
- Albanian: stihi — ghostly apparition
- Albanian: hije — ghostly apparition
- Arabic: شَبَح (šabaḥ) — ghostly apparition
- Arabic: شَبْح (šabḥ) — ghostly apparition
- Belarusian: пры́від (prývid) — ghostly apparition
- Bulgarian: призрак (prizrak) — ghostly apparition
- Bulgarian: привиде́ние (prividénie) — ghostly apparition
- Chichewa: mzukwa — ghostly apparition
- Chinese Mandarin: 幽靈 /幽灵 (yōulíng) — ghostly apparition
- Chinese Mandarin: 鬼魂 (guǐhún) — ghostly apparition
- Czech: strašidlo — ghostly apparition
- Czech: přízrak — ghostly apparition
- Egyptian: Ax-Z1:H_SPACE (ꜣḫ) — ghostly apparition
- Esperanto: fantomo — ghostly apparition
- Esperanto: apero — ghostly apparition
- Finnish: kummitus — ghostly apparition
- French: spectre — ghostly apparition
- German: Gespenst — ghostly apparition
- German: Spuk — ghostly apparition
- Greek: φάντασμα (fántasma) — ghostly apparition
- Ancient Greek: φάσμα (phásma) — ghostly apparition
- Ancient Greek: φάντασμα (phántasma) — ghostly apparition
- Hindi: भूत (bhūt) — ghostly apparition
- Irish: arracht — ghostly apparition
- Italian: spettro — ghostly apparition
- Italian: fantasma — ghostly apparition
- Japanese: 幽霊 (yūrei) — ghostly apparition
- Japanese: 亡霊 (bōrei) — ghostly apparition
- Korean: 유령 (yuryeong) — ghostly apparition
- Latin: spectrum — ghostly apparition
- Latin: phasma — ghostly apparition
- Old English: scucca — ghostly apparition
- Persian: شبح (šabah) — ghostly apparition
- Polish: widmo — ghostly apparition
- Polish: zjawa — ghostly apparition
- Portuguese: espectro — ghostly apparition
- Portuguese: aparição — ghostly apparition
- Romanian: spectru — ghostly apparition
- Romanian: fantomă — ghostly apparition
- Romanian: fantasmă — ghostly apparition
- Russian: при́зрак (prízrak) — ghostly apparition
- Russian: привиде́ние (prividénije) — ghostly apparition
- Russian: фанто́м (fantóm) — ghostly apparition
- Scottish Gaelic: sgàile — ghostly apparition
- Scottish Gaelic: tannasg — ghostly apparition
- Scottish Gaelic: taibhse — ghostly apparition
- Spanish: espectro — ghostly apparition
- Spanish: pora — ghostly apparition
- Spanish: jugarreta — ghostly apparition
- Sumerian: 𒄇 (/gidim/) — ghostly apparition
- Sumerian: 𒆤 (/lil/) — ghostly apparition
- Sumerian: 𒋝𒋝 (/sisig/) — ghostly apparition
- Swedish: vålnad — ghostly apparition
- Swedish: spöke — ghostly apparition
- Ukrainian: при́вид (prývyd) — ghostly apparition
- Urdu: بهوت (bhūt) — ghostly apparition
- Vietnamese: bóng ma — ghostly apparition
- Vietnamese: ma — ghostly apparition
- Bulgarian: фантом (fantom) — mental image
- Czech: přízrak — mental image
- Czech: strašák — mental image
- Czech: hrozba — mental image
- Esperanto: spektro — mental image
- German: Schreckgespenst — mental image
- German: Spuk — mental image
- Greek: σκιά (skiá) — mental image
- Romanian: fantomă — mental image
- Russian: фанто́м (fantóm) — mental image
- Spanish: imagen — mental image
- Swedish: spöke — mental image
Real reading context