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
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Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images A sell-off in global bond markets is accelerating, fueling concerns over government finances and raising the specter of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses around the world. Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2025 For many, the deluge of snow, wrapped in sub-freezing temperatures promising to sink toward zero, raised the specter of power outages and busted pipes. Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2025 Played by the same actors (Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks), both couples face the specter of death when the man is diagnosed with tuberculosis in the early story and the woman with AIDS in the later one. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024 As Ukraine’s military struggles with battlefield setbacks and dwindling morale, the specter of a peace deal promised by President-elect Donald Trump has added another layer of uncertainty. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for the specter of (something) 

Dictionary Entries Near the specter of (something)

the Speaker

the specter of (something)

Thespesia

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 22 Jan. 2025.

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