noun
specter
SPEK-tur/ˈspɛktər/
A ghostly apparition.
A frightened woman recoils as a translucent specter hovers above the floor.
Etymology
The ancestor's sense of an appearance or apparition became a frightening ghost. Specter then broadened to an object of dread, allowing a feared possibility to be described as a haunting presence.
In context
ghost is back no surprise perhaps repress something and it's as a specter that it's likely to return
More examples
- The villagers believe a specter haunts the abandoned house.
- In the story, the specter vanishes when the sun rises.
- She dismisses tales of specters as tricks of the imagination.
Forms
specter · specters
spectral adjective — Of or resembling a ghost.
Similar words
- ghost
- The everyday term for the spirit of a dead person.
- apparition
- Emphasizes a supernatural figure's appearance rather than its frightening nature.
- phantom
- Can suggest an unreal or imagined figure, not necessarily a spirit.