spectral
Like a phantom
Spectral relates to specters—ghosts or phantoms.
A spectral figure appears ghostly, pale, or insubstantial: A spectral form drifted through the fog.
In science, spectral refers to the spectrum of light or other radiation: spectral analysis, spectral lines.
Both senses share the idea of something visible yet intangible—light broken into bands, or a presence barely there.
Visible supernatural manifestation
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
- shadeDarkness from blocked light
revenant · poltergeist · banshee · ghost · haunt · phantasm · spook · soul
Light-splitting optical element
- rainbowRefracted light arc
- dispersionScattering across space
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- refractionWave bending between media
diffraction · colorimetry · visible · absorption · emission · photon · light · iridescence
Disturbingly unforgettable
- chillingCausing fear or cold
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- spookyUnsettlingly strange
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
otherworldly · supernatural · macabre · ominous · sinister · ghostlike · phantasmal · shadowy
Exceeding usual boundaries
- celestialOf the sky above
- intangibleNot physically present
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
incorporeal · insubstantial · airy · nebulous · astral · diaphanous · gossamer · luminous
Light emitted after absorption
- quantumSmallest discrete unit
- nanometerMetric unit, billion-fold smaller
- angstromSubatomic length unit
- infraredHeat-bearing electromagnetic waves
ultraviolet · gamma-ray · electromagnetic · frequency · photometry · Doppler · redshift · blueshift
apparition
Visible supernatural manifestation
shade · revenant · poltergeist · banshee · ghost · haunt · phantasm · spook · soul · ectoplasm
prism
Light-splitting optical element
- rainbowRefracted light arc
- dispersionScattering across space
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
refraction · diffraction · colorimetry · visible · absorption · emission · photon · light · iridescence · chromatic
haunting
Disturbingly unforgettable
uncanny · otherworldly · supernatural · macabre · ominous · sinister · ghostlike · phantasmal · shadowy · mysterious
transcendent
Exceeding usual boundaries
- celestialOf the sky above
- intangibleNot physically present
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
immaterial · incorporeal · insubstantial · airy · nebulous · astral · diaphanous · gossamer · luminous · shimmering
fluorescence
Light emitted after absorption
- quantumSmallest discrete unit
- nanometerMetric unit, billion-fold smaller
- angstromSubatomic length unit
infrared · ultraviolet · gamma-ray · electromagnetic · frequency · photometry · Doppler · redshift · blueshift · chromatography
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- ghostsapparitions, ghosts, apparition, phantoms, specters
- mysteriousmysterious, cryptic, enigmatic, arcane, obscure
- Mysticalethereal, otherworldly, supernatural, numinous, transcendent
- Gothic castledungeons, towers, turrets, battlements, drawbridges
- otherworldlyghostly, eerie, ethereal, phantom, wraithlike
spectralcorporeal
Having physical existence
bodily · physical · solid · tangible · substantial
- political spectrumRange of belief systems
- color spectrumVisible wavelength continuum
- on the spectrumHaving autism traits
- light spectrumRange of electromagnetic wavelengths
- broad spectrumCovering many categories
- full spectrumIncluding all variations
spectrum, spectrometer, spectroscopy, spectre, spectroscope, spectra, spectres, spectrally, spectral lines