51Թ

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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
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • t·· adjective
  • t·· adjective
  • p·t· noun
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51Թ 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
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of spectacle1

C14: via Old French from Latin spectaculum a show, from 𳦳 to watch, from specere to look at
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Idioms and Phrases

  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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Donald Trump, like other historically powerful authoritarians and autocrats, is a master of spectacle and distraction.

From

In 1991’s “The Doors,” Oliver Stone pushed the boundaries of a music biopic to make a calamitous, imperfect work that could accurately reflect the spectacle that was Jim Morrison’s life.

From

This intimate spectacle was a hit in Asia for years, before the isolation of the pandemic and the existential threat of AI.

From

The deportation campaign of undocumented immigrants is about what I expected, although the sickening spectacle they are making of it is even more grotesque than I thought it would be.

From

The spectacle and disruption XR caused generated massive media attention, but the police were furious.

From

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Related 51Թs

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.

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