specter

UK: /ˈspektəʳ/ US: /ˈspɛktɚ/ ,(spek′tər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

spec•ter /ˈspɛktɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a visible but bodiless spirit, esp. one of a terrifying nature;
   a ghost:
   Scrooge was certain he had seen a specter of his long dead friend.
2. some object or source of terror or dread:
   the specter of disease.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] ˈspec•tre. See -spec-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

spec•ter  (spek′tər), n. 

1. a visible incorporeal spirit, esp. one of a terrifying nature;
   ghost;
   phantom;
   apparition.
2. some object or source of terror or dread:
   the specter of disease or famine.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] spectre. 

• Latin spectrum; see spectrum
• 1595–1605

Synonyms

• 1. shade. See ghost. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

spec•tre  (spek′tər), n. [Chiefly Brit.]

1. British Terms specter.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

spectre, specter / ˈspɛktə/ noun

1. a ghost; phantom; apparition
2. a mental image of something unpleasant or menacing: the spectre of redundancy

Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin spectrum, from specere to look at