as in glass
a pair of lenses set in a frame that is held in place with ear supports and which are usually worn to correct vision
bought a pair of spectacles with nonprescription lenses simply to look more intelligent
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Recent Examples of spectacles
After all, the films that benefit the most from PLF ticket sales have been Hollywood's biggest releases, as audiences want to see explosive action movies and dazzling spectacles in the most state-of-the-art locations.
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Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 9 Jan. 2026
Political events and news programming ran off with 16 of the top spots in 2024, but in the absence of a collar-grabbing quadrennial circus, only three Beltway spectacles carved out space on this year’s chart.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Videos of Chinese robots performing martial arts and acrobatics are common on social media, while the Chinese robotics industry has organized a series of spectacles to show off its advances.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
There might not have been an Eras Tour to break billion-dollar records, but 2025 still produced stadium spectacles, innovative arena productions and impressive club performances from a slew of superstars not named Taylor Swift.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 21 Dec. 2025
By the 1960s, a new generation of filmmakers like Mike Nichols and Stanley Kubrick scored big with audiences hungry for something different than the escapist spectacles Hollywood was green-lighting.
—Matthew Jordan, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025
Everyone involved in these snowflake-fluffing spectacles should be deeply embarrassed—if only the concept of shame still existed in GOP politics.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
This, above all, is what’s at stake in the year’s exciting spate of self-aware cinematic spectacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Leading up to the Great American Eclipse, these safety spectacles became a bit hard to find, so buy them and more eclipse gear and merch early.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spectacles
glass
Noun
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Simply choose the right size for your meal, place the glass bowl in the air fryer, and start cooking with the push of a button.—
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To McDermott, wearing glasses would be a reminder that more sand might be in the bottom of his hourglass than the top.—
Cite this Entry
“Spectacles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spectacles. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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