spectacle
A spectacle is something you can't believe you are seeing. Get on top of your desk at work in your underpants while playing the kazoo and you're making a spectacle of yourself.
The word spectacle comes from the Latin spectaculum meaning "public show," an apt translation because a spectacle, like a public show, is something worth watching. A ballet is a spectacle, or an elaborate production worth watching. Often the word is used to describe something that has a particularly exciting visual element to it — like an acrobatic display or a magic trick. It's something you have to see to really appreciate.
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something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight)type of:sightanything that is seen
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an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale
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a blunder that makes you look ridiculous; used in the phrase `make a spectacle of' yourself
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Vocabulary lists containing spectacle
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. From Mardi Gras in New Orleans to Carnaval in Brazil to Pancake Day in Ireland, Catholics around the world party like they're about to fast for 40 days — because they are. Learn these words related to celebrations and be the life of the party!
The words on this list all derive from the Latin verb specere, meaning "to look." Here are links to the complete set of Common Senses lists: Hearing: Phon / Aud / Son Sight: Vid, Vis / Spec, Spect, Spic / Op, Ops, Opt Touch: Path / Sent, Sens / Tact, Tang
In 1776, Isabel is enslaved by British loyalists. When she begins to work as a spy for American revolutionaries, she discovers that neither side is interested in her freedom—and decides to do something about it.