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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spook
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Outside of Phoenix, Western theme park Old Tucson is delivering spooks with its Nightfall at Old Tucson event that includes haunted mazes, roaming scares and magic shows.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
The officer suggested that the delivery worker go around the back of the house to drop off the food, but the 8-foot-long gator spooked her.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spook
Noun
But that didn’t stop Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, the Netflix Christmas spy thriller now streaming, from encumbering star Keira Knightley as dedicated wife and professional spook Helen Webb with Ben Whishaw‘s Sam Young, a fellow spy and assassin, in all matters of love and relationships.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Outside of Phoenix, Western theme park Old Tucson is delivering spooks with its Nightfall at Old Tucson event that includes haunted mazes, roaming scares and magic shows.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
This includes his aggressive strategy to tax imports, which many say has spooked the stock market.
—Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
The officer suggested that the delivery worker go around the back of the house to drop off the food, but the 8-foot-long gator spooked her.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spook
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spook
Noun
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Elon Musk visited the CIA headquarters on Monday for talks on government efficiency, the spy agency director of public affairs Liz Lyons told Axios.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Chilean writer-director Felipe Gálvez, whose debut feature The Settlers premiered in Cannes in 2023, has set his second feature film as Impunity, a spy thriller set in the late 1990s around the arrest of dictator Augusto Pinochet.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Except he’s lured there in the dead of winter, presumably called once more by the ghosts of children killed by violence in years past.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
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The Mad Money host then invoked the ghost of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, widely seen as a major contributing factor to the Great Depression.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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For the most part, yes, although children ages 8 and younger might be frightened by some of the action sequences.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Despite these protections on paper, permanent residents and visa-holders have been frightened by the speed and ferocity of the Trump administration’s crackdown and its bulldozing of due process rights, said Neil A. Weinrib, an immigration attorney for more than four decades.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Back in 2015 Atwell had her own show, Agent Carter, back in the Agents of SHIELD era, chronicling her time as a government operative for two seasons.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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During the Cold War, a similar ban was imposed in 1987 after a U.S. Marine in Moscow was compromised by a Soviet operative.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Todd, the neighbor, even the strange apparitions are obfuscated simply because of their height, which adds to the eerieness of Indy’s experience but also makes Indy’s recognition of Todd’s voice all the more emotional.—
Rafael Motamayor,
IndieWire,
10 Mar. 2025
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In the writer-director’s latest horror flick, The Monkey, there is no malignant apparition, and death doesn’t lurk or stalk.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
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As part of their efforts, the duo are trained to simply scare the animals off and run five to seven miles daily, rain or shine.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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Ant scare Anthony Edwards finished with a team-high 28 points on an efficient 10-for-15 shooting from the field.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The defense pointed to several potential suspects at the home at the time, including Albert, his nephew and their friend, an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives who had been exchanging flirty text messages with Read.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
5 Apr. 2025
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Oh yes, and there was one other common denominator with all these contract extensions: None of the agents involved was named Scott Boras.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Afternoon Tea highlighting the spirit of Thailand is available at hotels in Bangkok, London at Park Lane and Singapore.—
Elycia Rubin,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2025
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Derik Faye, alongside Richard Branson and Howard Schultz, embodies the spirit of triumph over circumstances, offering enduring lessons on navigating risk, embracing change, overcoming setbacks, adapting to sacrifice, and maintaining a realistic perspective.—
Jaime Catmull,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spook. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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