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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

specter

/ˈspɛktɚ/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does specter mean?

noun

  1. A ghostly apparition, a phantom.
  2. (figuratively) A threatening mental image; an unpleasant prospect
  3. Any of certain species of dragonfly of the genus Boyeria, family Aeshnidae.
More meanings (1)

noun

  1. Any of various species of Asian danaid butterflies of the genus Idea, family Nymphalidae.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈspɛktɚ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

He stalked like the specter of a soldier, his eyes burning with the power of a stare into the unknown.
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarProject Gutenberg ebook #73
Happily, however, this specter was laid before it had time to grow into a morbid familiar by a very trifling incident.
Jane AddamsTwenty Years at Hull House; with Autobiographical NotesProject Gutenberg ebook #1325
More book examples (3)
Therefore purgatory, and every solemnity, rite, and commerce connected with it, is to be regarded as nothing but a specter of the devil.
Martin LutherThe Smalcald ArticlesTranslated by F. (Friedrich) Bente; W. H. T. (William Herman Theodore) DauProject Gutenberg ebook #273
All men do naturally love the idea of leisure, laughter, loud and equal argument; but there stands a specter in our hall.
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) ChestertonWhat's Wrong with the WorldProject Gutenberg ebook #1717
In looking through the scuttle Barbicane saw the specter of the dog, and other divers objects which had been thrown from the projectile, obstinately following them.
Jules VerneFrom the Earth to the moon; and, round the moonProject Gutenberg ebook #83