Noun

(en noun)

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

* 22 March 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]

In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay.

An exciting exhibition, performance or event.

An embarrassing situation

He made a spectacle out of himself

(usually, in the plural) 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.

(figuratively) An aid to the intellectual sight.

* Chaucer

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

(obsolete) A spyglass; a looking-glass.

The brille of a snake.

Noun

(en noun)

The act of illustrating; the act of making clear and distinct; education; also, the state of being illustrated, or of being made clear and distinct.

That which illustrates; a comparison or example intended to make clear or apprehensible, or to remove obscurity.

* {{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=June 19 , author=Phil McNulty , title=England 1-0 Ukraine , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=England will regard it as a measure of justice for Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany in Bloemfontein at the 2010 World Cup - but it was also an illustration of how they rode their luck for long periods in front of a predictably partisan home crowd.}}

A picture designed to decorate a volume or elucidate a literary work.

A calculated prevision of insurance premiums and returns (life insurance)"an illustration [...] is a computer projection of future premiums, cash values and death benefits based on the current dividend scale (whole life) or current interest rates and current costs of insurance (universal life)." taken from http://www.evaluatelifeinsurance.org