Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

spectacle

[ spek-tuh-kuhl ]

noun

  1. anything presented to the sight or view, especially something of a striking or impressive kind:

    The stars make a fine spectacle tonight.

    Synonyms: , , ,

  2. a public show or display, especially on a large scale:

    The coronation was a lavish spectacle.

  3. spectacles. eyeglasses, especially with pieces passing over or around the ears for holding them in place.
  4. Often spectacles.
    1. something resembling spectacles in shape or function.
    2. any of various devices suggesting spectacles, as one attached to a semaphore to display lights or different colors by colored glass.
  5. Obsolete. a spyglass.


spectacle

/ ˈɛəə /

noun

  1. a public display or performance, esp a showy or ceremonial one
  2. a thing or person seen, esp an unusual or ridiculous one

    he makes a spectacle of himself

  3. a strange or interesting object or phenomenon
  4. modifier of or relating to spectacles

    a spectacle case

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • t·· adjective
  • t·· adjective
  • p·t· noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of spectacle1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin 𳦳峦ܱܳ “sight, spectacle,” from 𳦳() “to look at,” literally, “to look repeatedly” (from specere “to look, regard, see”) + -culum -cle 2
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of spectacle1

C14: via Old French from Latin spectaculum a show, from 𳦳 to watch, from specere to look at
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. make a spectacle of oneself, to call attention to one's unseemly behavior; behave foolishly or badly in public:

    They tell me I made a spectacle of myself at the party last night.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But as a head of state and leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide, it will still be a spectacle of ceremony and tradition.

From

Jake Lang, who spent years in jail while contending with multiple charges for violence during the Capitol riot, is making a racist spectacle of a high school murder case in Texas.

From

It seems like ancient history now, but once upon a time, there was a little backdoor pilot that dreamed of growing up to be a full-fledged reality television spectacle.

From

It was not long before the spectacle of the London Marathon captured his imagination and he nagged his parents to help him peer over the barriers for a closer look at the elites.

From

With all its spectacle and chaos, Donald Trump’s shock and awe strategy is both domestic and global.

From

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


SPECTspectacled