spectre

spec·tre

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [spek-ter]
- /ˈspɛk tər/
- /ˈspek.tər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [spek-ter]
- /ˈspɛk tər/

Definitions of spectre word

noun spectre a visible incorporeal spirit, especially one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition. 1
noun spectre some object or source of terror or dread: the specter of disease or famine. 1
countable noun spectre If you refer to the spectre of something unpleasant, you are referring to something that you are frightened might occur. 0
countable noun spectre A spectre is a ghost. 0
noun spectre a ghost; phantom; apparition 0
noun spectre a mental image of something unpleasant or menacing 0

See all 6 definitions of spectre

Information block about the term

Origin of spectre

First appearance:

before 1595

One of the 38% oldest English words

1595-1605; < Latin spectrum; see spectrum

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Spectre

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Spectre

spectre popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 71% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

spectre usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for spectre

noun spectre

apparition — An apparition is someone you see or think you see but who is not really there as a physical being.
appearance — When someone makes an appearance at a public event or in a broadcast, they take part in it.
banshee — In Irish folk stories, a banshee is a female spirit who warns you by her long, sad cry that someone in your family is going to die.
chimaera — any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium
daemon — a demigod

All 14 Synonyms of spectre