as in haunting
of, relating to, or suggestive of a ghost
They spotted a spectral figure in the window of the old abandoned house.
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Recent Examples of spectral
Such spectral doppelgängers stalk the living as grim omens of impending death.
—
Arkansas Online, 22 May 2025
As the spectral figure begins to manifest in real life, his girlfriend Pia investigates the ghost’s identity, uncovering connections to a former university student named Lilies.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 May 2025
Season three’s conclusion includes a joyous picnic with another estranged branch of the family, including a relative who had for years planned to murder them all, as a spectral Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles) looks on approvingly.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 May 2025
After the robot collects its detailed visual and spectral imagery, Jiang says, a customized AI model compares it to a data bank to spot patterns known to be indicators of existing disease or vulnerability, allowing a farmer to concentrate prevention or treatment efforts on a particular location.
—Hope Hodge Seck, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Arkansas Online, 22 May 2025
As the spectral figure begins to manifest in real life, his girlfriend Pia investigates the ghost’s identity, uncovering connections to a former university student named Lilies.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 May 2025
Season three’s conclusion includes a joyous picnic with another estranged branch of the family, including a relative who had for years planned to murder them all, as a spectral Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles) looks on approvingly.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 May 2025
After the robot collects its detailed visual and spectral imagery, Jiang says, a customized AI model compares it to a data bank to spot patterns known to be indicators of existing disease or vulnerability, allowing a farmer to concentrate prevention or treatment efforts on a particular location.
—Hope Hodge Seck, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spectral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spectral
Adjective
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Turns out, after a haunting 4-3 loss in the 2024 Memorial Cup championship to the Saginaw Spirit, Cowan had a lot left to learn and to gain in his game.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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Guth landed on a more haunting and ambiguous image: Salome walking into a luminous mist, leaving mad reality behind.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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Lochridge cites the monitoring system for the Titan’s novel carbon fiber hull — the same system that showed eerie cracking noises.—
Adam Carlson,
People.com,
6 June 2025
-
Phobias, a silent clown duo with a horror twist, brought eerie theatrics to the stage — complete with balloon popping and unsettling surprises — and successfully freaked out the judges (especially Howie Mandel).—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Devon is suspicious of Simone’s borderline creepy relationship with her boss, Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore), and ambushes her with an intervention at the Kells’ island home.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
3 June 2025
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Bug poems can’t completely sublimate their object of poetic attention—bugs are too creepy and alive.—
Hannah Brooks-Motl
June 2,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Hell, Skinner was already celebrating while DeSmith was kicking at a phantom puck.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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As the casualties have mounted, locals have speculated on everything from the birds being electrocuted by power lines to a phantom serial bird killer being on the loose.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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That little tidbit of haunting history doesn’t have anything to do with the elk’s ghostly appearance.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
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Vogue recently spoke to Walker about letting Tom Wolfe guide her expectations of present-day digital media, her favorite blog she’s ever written, the ghostly specter of the girlboss, and attempting to resist universalizing in her writing.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Can't wait for the weird personality quirks and side eye of judgment.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
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Historically, Nintendo has had a weird relationship with the internet.—
Jordan Minor,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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More than just a haunted house novel, this is a supernatural psychological thriller.—
Gabino Iglesias,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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But things are brewing around another movie title, the 2022 supernatural horror thriller What Lies Beneath, which Johnson executive produced.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spectral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spectral. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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