spectacle
/ˈspɛktəkl̩/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The horse race was a thrilling spectacle."
- "But scarcely was it set upon the table when the whole was carried off and plundered by the people who came to see the spectacle of the entertainment"
- "VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo."
- "22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/ In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay."
- "I enjoyed her presentation, but it needs more spectacle."
- "He made a spectacle out of himself."
Etymology
From Middle English spectacle, from Middle French spectacle, from Latin spectāculum (“a show, spectacle”), from spectō (“to see, behold”), frequentative of speciō (“to see”). See species. Doublet of spectaculum.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *speḱ-, spectacle, spectāculum