How to Use spectral in a Sentence

spectral

adjective
  • These changes are referred to as spectral holes.
    — Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Half the lights in the room had failed, lending it a spectral gloom.
    — Nicolas Niarchos, Time, 30 Jan. 2020
  • But that spectral cameo has confused scholars for a long time.
    — National Geographic, 16 July 2019
  • Basquiat’s presence in the film is more spectral as a result.
    — New York Times, 30 Apr. 2018
  • In the video above, Geralt goes head-to-spectral-head with a wraith.
    — Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Conjure a spectral ox to charge forward.
    — Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
  • But here, the landscape is dry, austere, spectral.
    — Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
  • But when the moon is full their spirits rise for a spectral gathering.
    — Kira Garcia, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
  • Now go get a laser and some spectral glasses and start exploring.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 27 Sep. 2011
  • As a graph gets more connected, its spectral gap will tend to get bigger.
    — Quanta Magazine, 2 June 2022
  • The victims of mass shootings in schools leave behind a spectral trail.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Here along the Volga, war and death felt like spectral presences.
    — Elettra Pauletto, Harper's Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
  • By the time a blurry spectral figure appears, the gang is geared up and ready for a fight.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023
  • And then there’s the spectral presence of Howard’s wife, Pearl.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2022
  • In the center of the room, swathed in shadow, is the faint spectral outline of a small boy.
    — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
  • As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, a spectral face came into view on one of the walls.
    — David Brown, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Some of us are lucky enough to find friendship in the spectral echoes of divine listening.
    — Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Failure takes on a spectral quality as well.
    — Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Cecilia would select spectral plates to look at and take them to her office, but not by hand.
    — Lucy Evans, Scientific American, 22 June 2023
  • The technique captures light across a range of spectral bands beyond what the human eye can see.
    — Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Over the next six weeks, Kate’s a light, almost spectral presence in the apartment.
    — Fernanda Eberstadt, Vogue, 30 July 2018
  • Still, the Kramers have found that a little spectral marketing doesn’t hurt.
    — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 28 Feb. 2026
  • The spectral information was used to estimate the age and the size of the stars.
    — John Timmer, Ars Technica, 4 Jan. 2018
  • Look at the spectral muscles that used to be firm and perky and really powerful.
    — Sandra Rose Salathe, Peoplemag, 6 Oct. 2023
  • The movie is shot from the perspective of the spectral entity at its center.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Data can be encoded in both the frequency and depth of these spectral holes.
    — Thomas Coughlin, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Data can be encoded in both the frequency and depth of these spectral holes.
    — Thomas Coughlin, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Seeing him across from Washington onstage has a spectral charge of its own.
    — Vulture, 13 Oct. 2022
  • Past other graves in this spectral city, is where a Bonaventure superstar used to be.
    — CBS News, 29 Oct. 2017
  • From this spectral change and the time difference, your brain perceives the location of the sound source.
    — Qi “peter” Li, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spectral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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