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
Maybe observers shouldn’t let the specter of the playoffs diminish their appreciation of regular-season developments, such as Stone’s emergence as a legitimate major league starter or catcher Smith’s improvement throwing out potential base stealers.
—
Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
The judge ruled against the airline and in favor of the passenger in February, but the specter of a company’s arguing that its own A.I. could not be trusted did not bode well for A.I. management teams.
—David Streitfeld, New York Times, 28 May 2024
With the specter of war crimes charges now hanging over the Israel-Hamas war, so too are questions.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024
Frankly Speaking uses this conflict to invoke the specter of clichéd K-drama love triangles, but Jeong-heon remains mostly in the background of Ki-baek and Woo-joo’s chemistry.
—Geoffrey Bunting, TIME, 24 May 2024
Campos raised the specter of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where protesters in the streets were met with police violence, and divisions erupted inside the venue.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
The combination of weak growth and rising prices is raising the specter of stagflation.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 16 May 2024
The potential consequences of these charges are severe, with the specter of imprisonment looming large for the senator if convicted.
—Jeremy Yurow, USA TODAY, 13 May 2024
Therefore, the next time the NCAA raises the specter of the end of sports, courts and policymakers should not be cowed.
—Dionne Koller, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2024
Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
The judge ruled against the airline and in favor of the passenger in February, but the specter of a company’s arguing that its own A.I. could not be trusted did not bode well for A.I. management teams.
—David Streitfeld, New York Times, 28 May 2024
With the specter of war crimes charges now hanging over the Israel-Hamas war, so too are questions.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024
Frankly Speaking uses this conflict to invoke the specter of clichéd K-drama love triangles, but Jeong-heon remains mostly in the background of Ki-baek and Woo-joo’s chemistry.
—Geoffrey Bunting, TIME, 24 May 2024
Campos raised the specter of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where protesters in the streets were met with police violence, and divisions erupted inside the venue.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
The combination of weak growth and rising prices is raising the specter of stagflation.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 16 May 2024
The potential consequences of these charges are severe, with the specter of imprisonment looming large for the senator if convicted.
—Jeremy Yurow, USA TODAY, 13 May 2024
Therefore, the next time the NCAA raises the specter of the end of sports, courts and policymakers should not be cowed.
—Dionne Koller, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the specter of (something).' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“The specter of (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20specter%20of%20%28something%29. Accessed 9 Jun. 2024.
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