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
Joe Carollo spent decades earning his reputation as a political brawler, clashing with Miami bureaucrats and raising the specter of leftist politics and communist ties to get his way.
—
Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 30 May 2025
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a World War III on Tuesday as the rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine ramped up.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
But with the specter of nuclear war, what India can achieve through military force is limited.
—Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 18 May 2025
Plus, in Qualcomm, the chip maker is facing a nimble new competitor in the laptop-CPU market (with the specter of that rival Nvidia/MediaTek N1X Arm-chip effort in the shadows).
—Pcmag Staff, PC Magazine, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for the specter of (something)
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Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 30 May 2025
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a World War III on Tuesday as the rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine ramped up.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
But with the specter of nuclear war, what India can achieve through military force is limited.
—Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 18 May 2025
Plus, in Qualcomm, the chip maker is facing a nimble new competitor in the laptop-CPU market (with the specter of that rival Nvidia/MediaTek N1X Arm-chip effort in the shadows).
—Pcmag Staff, PC Magazine, 15 May 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 11 Jun. 2025.
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