the specter of (something)
idiom
: a notion or fear of something bad that might happen in the future
a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war
News of the disease raised the specter of a possible plague.
Examples of the specter of (something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
None of this — the Netflix exposé painting her childhood as hellish and her adolescence as haunted by the specter of a controlling, manipulative mother; the rabid backlash to it and endless coverage of it — is pushing Piper off social media.
—
Fortesa Latifi, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2025
The filmmaker further raised the specter of one of the state’s hallmark attractions for productions — its crew talent — leaving the state altogether.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2025
And as Milei got closer to power, so did the specter of rising authoritarianism, particularly in the face of a distaste for the Republic, representative democracy, and the separation of powers, pushing instead for a dismantling of the institutions of government, particularly Congress.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
And recent funding cuts threaten to worsen the spread of drug-resistant TB, raising the specter of a world where the disease regains its early 20th-century deadliness.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the specter of (something)
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Fortesa Latifi, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2025
The filmmaker further raised the specter of one of the state’s hallmark attractions for productions — its crew talent — leaving the state altogether.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2025
And as Milei got closer to power, so did the specter of rising authoritarianism, particularly in the face of a distaste for the Republic, representative democracy, and the separation of powers, pushing instead for a dismantling of the institutions of government, particularly Congress.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
And recent funding cuts threaten to worsen the spread of drug-resistant TB, raising the specter of a world where the disease regains its early 20th-century deadliness.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the specter of (something)
Cite this Entry
“The specter of (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20specter%20of%20%28something%29. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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