spectacle

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈspɛktəkl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #10493

Meanings

1

noun
An impressive or exciting sight, show, or event.

The fireworks display was a wonderful spectacle.
2

noun
An embarrassing sight or scene that draws attention.

He drank too much and made a spectacle of himself.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an impressive or exciting... pageant show

More eyeglasses glasses specs

Word family

Forms round-spectacledspectacles

Derived forms bespectacledcounterspectacleminispectaclespectacledspectaclelessspectaclelikespectaclemakerspectaclemakingsuperspectacle

Related forms species spectacular speculate

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sad spectacle
a distressing or pitiful scene that draws people's attention

Adjective + noun

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.

*speḱ- Proto-Indo-European spectacle Middle English spectāculum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# spectacle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈspɛktəkl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 10493

## Meanings
1. An impressive or exciting sight, show, or event.
2. An embarrassing sight or scene that draws attention.

## Examples
- The fireworks display was a wonderful spectacle.
- He drank too much and made a spectacle of himself.

## Synonyms
- eyeglasses
- glasses
- specs

## Derived Forms
- bespectacled
- counterspectacle
- minispectacle
- spectacled
- spectacleless
- spectaclelike
- spectaclemaker
- spectaclemaking
- superspectacle

## Related Forms
- species
- spectacular
- speculate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *speḱ-
- Root: spectacle
- Root: spectāculum

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Spectacle is 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. Important forms in the word's history include Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-, Middle English spectacle, Middle French spectacle, Latin spectāculum. In current use it includes senses such as An impressive or exciting sight, show, or event and An embarrassing sight or scene that draws attention.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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