1
as in spy
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
Russia recalled its spooks after the collapse of the Soviet Union
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2
as in ghost
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
Halloween is the night when spooks and goblins are said to roam abroad
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to frighten
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of spook
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 14 July 2024
Read on for what the cosmos have in store for your zodiac sign this Halloween amid Scorpio season, according to PEOPLE's resident astrologer Kyle Thomas
Comments
There's a spook in the stars!
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
Friday the 13th didn’t spook investors with U.S. stocks little changed on the day as investors bided time until the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook 
Noun
But Fly Me to the Moon barely develops its lead characters, played by Johansson and Channing Tatum, so what chance does Harrelson have in playing anything more than a one-dimensional spook?
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 14 July 2024
Read on for what the cosmos have in store for your zodiac sign this Halloween amid Scorpio season, according to PEOPLE's resident astrologer Kyle Thomas
Comments
There's a spook in the stars!
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
Most dogs would be so spooked by that and would have never even performed.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
Friday the 13th didn’t spook investors with U.S. stocks little changed on the day as investors bided time until the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spook
Noun
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The 10 best books of December include a spy novel, essays by physicist Alan Lightman, and a group biography of four women scientists in Nazi Germany.Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2025
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Essay Spook Stories: All Writers are Spies Jason McBride Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth takes the spy novel to metafictional new heights.Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025
Noun
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There will be more hiking through desolate, wide-open spaces, more ghosts, and, of course, more unhinged metamodern storytelling.Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
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Located on a former plantation, there are stories about the ghosts of enslaved people frequenting the area around the oak, contributing to its spiritual atmosphere.Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Marina, frightened, fled the spa, almost leaving behind her shirt, and spent the next hour looking over her shoulder to see whether the woman had, in fact, called someone.Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
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Some frightened residents even abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area, fleeing on foot from the engulfing blaze.Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Several Yemeni al-Qaeda operatives failed to get visas to the U.S. because they were viewed as potential economic migrants, McDermott and Meyer write.Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2025
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The reality series sends a group of celebrities to undergo training with former Special Forces operatives.Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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There have been no sightings, no fleeting apparitions.David Ornstein, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
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Harker’s lonely investigations are often interrupted by jump scares courtesy of dark apparitions with the silhouettes of nesting dolls.Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 12 July 2024
Verb
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Even in an off-year, Mahomes still scares the heck out of me as a Bills’ fan.Harry Enten, CNN, 11 Jan. 2025
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Consider the teams that might have been scared away by that kind of uncertainty.Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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By Kent Page Education is one of the most powerful agents of change in the world.UNICEF USA, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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Coop, real estate agent Jenna Cooper’s boutique, is offering free clothing for individuals and families affected by the fires from now until Jan. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Over 45 gallons of spirits, wine, and beer were served to 55 men in attendance.Christian Schneider, National Review, 9 Jan. 2025
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This shift in approach invites us to appreciate them on their own terms, free from the expectations of traditional spirits.Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appétit, 9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near spook
Cite this Entry
“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spook. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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