specter
/ˈspɛktɚ/ noun C2- A ghostly apparition, a phantom. · A specter haunted the cemetery at the old Vasquez manor.
- A threatening mental image; an unpleasant prospect · The specter of an election-vote recount is this year's political bogeyman.
- Any of certain species of dragonfly of the genus Boyeria, family Aeshnidae.
- Any of various species of Asian danaid butterflies of the genus Idea, family Nymphalidae.
Plural specters
From the library
She marched the shrinking ghost-seer down to the spring and ordered her to proceed straightway over the bridge and into the dusky retreats of wailing ladies and headless specters beyond.
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