Spectacle Meaning
/ˈspɛktəkl̩/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc.
nounAn embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation.
Sentence Examples
The royal wedding was a great spectacle.
I need to buy new spectacle frames.
Don't make a spectacle of yourself crying in the street.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The incredible fireworks display was a ____ that everyone in the crowd enjoyed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was a grand ____ that was watched by millions of people.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 100, column 1:
"Some very interesting relics of Adam and Eve were shown us, that were brought from America; such as a fine-tooth comb, made of thorns, a part of a pair of leather spectacle frames, without glasses, a boot jack made of ebony, and a set of pawpaws of props, with the backs filled with a hard substance, resembling lava."
— 1858 August 14, Peleg Parsley Bell, “Seeing the World. Letter No. 5. […] Still in London.”, in The Flag of Our Union, volume XIII, number 33, Boston, Mass.: M[aturin] M[urray] Ballou, page 260, column 2:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The incredible fireworks display was a ____ that everyone in the crowd enjoyed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was a grand ____ that was watched by millions of people.