spooky

adjective

ˈspü-kē 

spookier; spookiest

1

: strange, unsettling, or frightening in a way that suggests the supernatural : eerie, uncanny

[Caroline] Shaw's composition … is a mysterious and densely layered four-movement work … with vocalization and spookier in-between sounds that originate deep in the throat: moans, gasps, exhalations of breath.

—Gia Kourlas

Olivia Wilde's new film … owes a debt to many spooky dramas about the dark side of the suburbs—think The Stepford Wives, with even more of a sci-fi edge.

—David Sims

sometimes, specifically : relating to, resembling, or suggesting ghosts or spooks

Spooky stories of Hawaiian night marchers (ghosts of warriors and chiefs) lurking around bushes and walking the trail are often told, but these haunted tales are not true, according to Lopaka Kapanui, a Native Hawaiian master storyteller …

—Christina Hitt

2

: nervous, skittish

Dealing with Louisa when she was having an attack was very much like dealing with a spooky horse. You had to exude self-confidence …

—Jane Smiley

spookily

ˈspü-kə-lē 

adverb

spookiness

ˈspü-kē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• excitable
• nervous

Examples of spooky in a Sentence

The music was pretty spooky.

a spooky horse shying at shadows

Recent Examples on the Web

Thin Places was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, and is being reissued with four new stories just in time for spooky season. —Drew Broussard july 8, Literary Hub, 8 July 2025

Indeed, when the powers-that-be didn't fully indulge Giger's vision for a spooky ghost train, the artist stumped up $100,000 of his own cash to build the model himself. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 7 July 2025

Since 1995, the town has honored Emma’s memory through their very own coffin race (which anyone can enter), accompanied by spooky festivities. —Teaghan Skulszki, Outside Online, 4 July 2025

Summer in Michigan is just kicking off, but now's your chance to line up a job for the spooky season. —Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

spooky

adjective

ˈspü-kē 

spookier; spookiest

1

: relating to, resembling, or suggesting ghosts

spooky houses

2

: skittish sense 2

a spooky horse

spookiness noun