as in frightened
filled with fear or dread
Ichabod Crane was so spooked that he left Sleepy Hollow for good
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scared
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spooked
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 June 2026
The Grammy Award-winning superstar took to Instagram to share her experience, which left her spooked and unable to sleep.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Reeves Wiedeman, Curbed, 22 June 2026
Romanch Mahajan, who was visiting New York City from India with his family, suffered fatal injuries when the horse became spooked and bolted off.
—Ronn Blitzer , Tessa Hoyos, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2026
The horse then got spooked and ran off, while the driver chased after it.
—Katie Houlis, CBS News, 20 June 2026
Animal welfare activists have long said the carriage horses are overworked, can get easily spooked on city streets and live in inadequate stables while their drivers regularly flout city rules.
—Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Simply put, investors were spooked by Fed policymakers projecting a possible interest rate hike to combat stubborn inflation.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 19 June 2026
Cops from the Central Park Precinct are looking into the crash and have interviewed the carriage horse driver, who had stepped away from the carriage to take a photo of victim Romanch Mahajan and his family before the horse got spooked and raced off, a police source said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 June 2026
But the solution Russian officials proposed on June 5 spooked NASA officials, prompting them to take the extreme step of securing their astronauts inside Dragon in case of a depressurization event on the space station.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 15 June 2026
Anthropic’s newest model, Mythos, has spooked the US government and Wall Street with its capabilities, which experts say can exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities at an unprecedented pace.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 13 June 2026
Adjective
Know what would make Whitney less spooked?
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 June 2026
The Grammy Award-winning superstar took to Instagram to share her experience, which left her spooked and unable to sleep.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
There were plenty of large homes on the North Fork, and more popping up every day, but the scale of the project had spooked many locals.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Curbed, 22 June 2026
Romanch Mahajan, who was visiting New York City from India with his family, suffered fatal injuries when the horse became spooked and bolted off.
—Ronn Blitzer , Tessa Hoyos, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2026
The horse then got spooked and ran off, while the driver chased after it.
—Katie Houlis, CBS News, 20 June 2026
Animal welfare activists have long said the carriage horses are overworked, can get easily spooked on city streets and live in inadequate stables while their drivers regularly flout city rules.
—Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Simply put, investors were spooked by Fed policymakers projecting a possible interest rate hike to combat stubborn inflation.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 19 June 2026
Cops from the Central Park Precinct are looking into the crash and have interviewed the carriage horse driver, who had stepped away from the carriage to take a photo of victim Romanch Mahajan and his family before the horse got spooked and raced off, a police source said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 June 2026
But the solution Russian officials proposed on June 5 spooked NASA officials, prompting them to take the extreme step of securing their astronauts inside Dragon in case of a depressurization event on the space station.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 15 June 2026
Anthropic’s newest model, Mythos, has spooked the US government and Wall Street with its capabilities, which experts say can exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities at an unprecedented pace.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 13 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooked
Adjective
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Even young raccoons can bite or scratch when frightened, and wild animals can carry parasites and diseases, says Rakestraw.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
20 June 2026
-
When customers are frustrated, frightened, confused or considering leaving, those become high-risk moments.—
Demetri Giannikopoulos,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Karma came walking up on Jamon Coleman one day with pistols in hand, the only kind of moment that ever scared his son.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
21 June 2026
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The scientists only got a passing glimpse of the goblin shark before the lights and loud noise from the ROV's motor scared it away, Auscavitch told ABC News.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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Sunday, June 21, at a home in LaGrange, and the suspect’s 2-year-old daughter was among the terrified witnesses, the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office said in court documents.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
23 June 2026
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Psilocybin, in particular, appears to be highly effective for helping people with terminal illnesses feel less terrified of dying.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
Verb
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To his luck, the sound finally startled the bear and sent it running.—
Paloma Chavez,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
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Officials apparently were startled when more than 2,000 mostly young fans did just that.—
Jennifer Peltz,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
That's the part so many seem afraid to say out loud.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2026
-
The people who worked for cooperatives were particularly afraid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 June 2026
Adjective
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As a horrified Sam inadvertently observes, a creature has been sating itself on his buddy’s brain.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
-
As his tricks progressed, the Young Man felt horrified and confused at the same time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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Scenes involving firearms alarmed distributors still grappling with the aftermath of the Columbine massacre, while the film’s October release via Newmarket was further complicated by a trailer prominently featuring an airplane crash just weeks after the September 11 attacks.—
José Salazar,
IndieWire,
22 June 2026
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That relationship lasted until 2016, when Mobileye dropped Tesla as a customer after being alarmed that a driver assistance system was being sold to end users as driverless technology.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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Her mom was incredibly proud — and a bit shocked — that a Black man had been elected president.—
Rebecca Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
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While perusing an old friend’s social media account, she was shocked to see a little boy in the background of one of the photos.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spooked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooked. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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