noun · neutral
spectrum
UK/ˈspektrəm/US/ˈspɛktrəm/SPEC·trum
a continuous range or scale of different but related ideas, qualities, or activities
Examples
“Public opinion on the issue falls across the political spectrum.”
“Light can be split into a spectrum of colours.”
“The course covers a spectrum of topics from ecology to economics.”
Band 8 sentence
“The debate revealed a broad spectrum of views, from staunch opposition to conditional support.”
Collocations
- political spectrum
- broad/narrow spectrum
- spectrum of opinion
Word family
Common mistakes
translate as 'spektrum' or borrow Vietnamese spelling→use 'spectrum' with correct English spelling/pronunciation
use 'spectrum' to mean a single point, e.g., 'there is a spectrum of answer: yes'→use 'spectrum' to indicate a range of positions or values
Say it for a higher band
5range→6variety→7+spectrum
Synonyms
range
Easily confused
range
“The temperature range this week is 5–15°C, showing a narrow spectrum of variation.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Sublist 9
Learn it with its set