specter
/ˈspɛktər/
noun
- A ghost or spirit, especially one that is seen or imagined.
- The old house was said to be haunted by the specter of a former owner.
- She thought she saw a specter in the fog, but it was just a tree branch.
- In the story, a pale specter appeared at midnight in the castle hallway.
- A source of fear, worry, or dread; something that haunts the mind.
- Climate change is a specter that threatens future generations.
- The specter of unemployment hung over the entire factory town.
- He lived with the constant specter of failure after his first business collapsed.