specter
Definitions
A ghost or phantom; a visible apparition of someone not really present.
幽灵；鬼魂；并不真实在场之人的可见幻影。
A threatening or haunting prospect that looms over a situation.
笼罩局势的、令人忧虑的威胁或阴影。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin spectrum, 'an appearance,' via specere ('to look'). A specter is literally 'a thing that appears' — an image that shows itself without a real body, i.e. a ghost. The figurative sense ('the specter of war') keeps the image: a frightening thing that looms and appears without being fully present.
Root spectr still carries 3 more wordsUsage Guide
Spelling: specter is American; spectre is British — same word. Most common in figurative use: 'raise the specter of —' / 'the specter of —' (war, famine, recession, default) means to bring up a frightening possibility. Here specter ≈ a looming threat, not a literal ghost.
Example Sentences
- 1.
Villagers swore a pale specter haunted the abandoned chapel.
- 2.
The crisis raised the specter of mass unemployment across the region.
- 3.
For decades the specter of nuclear war hung over the world.
Easily Confused
specter vs spectrum — both from spectr, but specter is a ghost/looming threat (countable: a specter, the specter of war), while spectrum is a continuous range of colors/frequencies/values. A specter haunts you; a spectrum spreads out before you.