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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spectral
But as time passes, Miss Giddens increasingly believes that the estate is haunted, and that the children’s outbursts are evidence of spectral possession….
—
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025
That Live Fast And Die Young Red Supergiants evolve from high-mass O and B spectral type stars which rapidly exhaust their hydrogen fuel within 30 million years, Edward Guinan, an astronomer at Villanova University in Pennsylvania who was not involved with the study, told me via email.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
Reuniting with go-to Hollywood screenwriter David Koepp, who wrote his kicky techno-thriller Kimi, the director tells a familiar haunted-house story but from the haunter’s perspective — literally, as the entire movie unfolds from a spectral first-person POV!
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
These spectral mentors offer both comfort and warning, their presence giving new urgency to Shafak’s metaphors.
—Fidan Cheikosman, JSTOR Daily, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for spectral 
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025
That Live Fast And Die Young Red Supergiants evolve from high-mass O and B spectral type stars which rapidly exhaust their hydrogen fuel within 30 million years, Edward Guinan, an astronomer at Villanova University in Pennsylvania who was not involved with the study, told me via email.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
Reuniting with go-to Hollywood screenwriter David Koepp, who wrote his kicky techno-thriller Kimi, the director tells a familiar haunted-house story but from the haunter’s perspective — literally, as the entire movie unfolds from a spectral first-person POV!
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
These spectral mentors offer both comfort and warning, their presence giving new urgency to Shafak’s metaphors.
—Fidan Cheikosman, JSTOR Daily, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for spectral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spectral
Adjective
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Brody — still mostly unknown in Hollywood — got sick at the beginning of production, lost 30 pounds and poured himself into the haunting role of the virtuoso.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2025
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Some of the most powerful images created as part of the mural initiative reside on a haunting, decayed block of Edison Concept Houses, constructed in 1913 by a subsidiary of U.S. Steel from inventor Thomas Edison’s patent for single-pour concrete homes.—
Patricia Leigh Brown,
The Christian Science Monitor,
28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Fred Rogers was beaten with a hammer, and his wife Edwina was killed with a single gunshot to the head Comments The gruesome murders of a Houston couple 60 years ago remain one of the most eerie unsolved cases in the city’s history.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
25 Jan. 2025
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But Lynch, who died last week, at seventy-eight, made films in which every cheerful surface seemed to obscure an eerie reality.—
Joshua Rothman,
The New Yorker,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In The Life with Zac Posen Celebrities The 73 Best Answers in 73 Questions The predatory aspects of 21st-century fandom get a brilliant treatment in Lurker, a creepy, gripping debut from filmmaker Alex Russell, a writer on Dave, The Bear, and Beef.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
3 Feb. 2025
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One of the clips, which showed everything that hangs from the ceiling swaying, noises which sound like footsteps and the creepy attic, went viral, with more than 3.6 million views and 351,600 likes on TikTok in a matter of days.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That doesn't rule out that other pollsters are generating phantom swings by updating their weights, of course.—
G. Elliott Morris,
ABC News,
13 Jan. 2025
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But that estimate sharply dropped once authorities subtracted the amount of phantom investment gains and interest that Madoff’s customers were duped into believing existed.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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This is the first time the entire family sees the ghostly activity and finally believes Chloe's claim that a spirit is present in their house.—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
27 Jan. 2025
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The beauty of The Innocents lies in its enduring ambiguity, the frantic chaos of Giddens’s mind contrasted against the eerie hush that descends on the film ahead of its first ghostly appearance; both scenarios rendered equally and disturbingly plausible.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Stepping back, though—doesn’t something about this feel weird?—
Stephanie H. Murray,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2025
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No question is too weird, too small or too Seattle.—
Axios Seattle,
Axios,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Sources tell Deadline Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming film, a supernatural romantic thriller, based on an original story co-created by Shyamalan and global-bestselling novelist Nicholas Sparks.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2025
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Ranging from supernatural thrillers to creature-features starring flesh-eating monsters, there's plenty to keep your eyes glued on AMC Networks' horror streaming video service.—
Jonathan Granoff,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near spectral
Cite this Entry
“Spectral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spectral. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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