Definitions for: Spectacle


[n] a blunder that makes you look ridiculous; used in the phrase"make a spectacle of" yourself
[n] an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale
[n] something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight); "the tragic spectacle of cripples trying to escape"



Webster (1913) Definition: Spec"ta*cle, n. [F., fr. L. spectaculum, fr.
spectare to look at, to behold, v. intens. fr. specere. See
Spy.]
1. Something exhibited to view; usually, something presented
to view as extraordinary, or as unusual and worthy of
special notice; a remarkable or noteworthy sight; a show;
a pageant; a gazingstock.

O, piteous spectacle? O, bloody times! --Shak.

2. A spy-glass; a looking-glass. [Obs.]

Poverty a spectacle is, as thinketh me, Through
which he may his very friends see. --Chaucer.

3. pl. An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in
a light frame, and worn to assist sight, to obviate some
defect in the organs of vision, or to shield the eyes from
bright light.

4. pl. Fig.: An aid to the intellectual sight.

Shakespeare . . . needed not the spectacles of books
to read nature. --Dryden.

Syn: Show; sight; exhibition; representation; pageant.

See Also: bloomer, blooper, blunder, boner, boo-boo, botch, bullfight, bungle, corrida, display, flub, foul-up, fuckup, naumachia, naumachy, presentation, sight

Try our:
Scrabble Word Finder

Scrabble Cheat

Words With Friends Cheat

Hanging With Friends Cheat

Scramble With Friends Cheat

Ruzzle Cheat



Related Resources:
animlas that start with m
animals starting with p