as in frightened
filled with fear or dread
Ichabod Crane was so spooked that he left Sleepy Hollow for good
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of spooked
Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 May 2026
The judge got a little spooked and kicked it down to a lower court.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Apr. 2026
Investors have turned away from bonds in recent weeks, spooked by the specter of higher inflation from the Iran war.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Souring sentiment toward the vehicles’ non-traded peers, which have been hit with more than $15 billion in redemption requests from investors, also spooked public market shareholders, creating a buying opportunity for some investors.
—Olivia Fishlow, Bloomberg, 25 Apr. 2026
There are some who will speculate that he got spooked by the mention of his existence.
—Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
He’s also spooked by the city’s looming budget deficit and the possibility of the state legislature slashing property taxes.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Supporters of the measure include Lisa Baca of the Monteverde Ranch Equestrian Center in the northeast San Fernando Valley, who said horses are animals that can easily be spooked by facing moving e-bikes.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
New York — Computer science and engineering students at the University of Washington, spooked about AI, returned from spring break last week to a surprising email from the department head.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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
Bond markets have been spooked by the prospect of political change as the obvious challengers, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham, might push for greater government borrowing and spending, which could take gilt yields even higher.
—Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 May 2026
The judge got a little spooked and kicked it down to a lower court.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Apr. 2026
Investors have turned away from bonds in recent weeks, spooked by the specter of higher inflation from the Iran war.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Souring sentiment toward the vehicles’ non-traded peers, which have been hit with more than $15 billion in redemption requests from investors, also spooked public market shareholders, creating a buying opportunity for some investors.
—Olivia Fishlow, Bloomberg, 25 Apr. 2026
There are some who will speculate that he got spooked by the mention of his existence.
—Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
He’s also spooked by the city’s looming budget deficit and the possibility of the state legislature slashing property taxes.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Supporters of the measure include Lisa Baca of the Monteverde Ranch Equestrian Center in the northeast San Fernando Valley, who said horses are animals that can easily be spooked by facing moving e-bikes.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
New York — Computer science and engineering students at the University of Washington, spooked about AI, returned from spring break last week to a surprising email from the department head.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooked
Adjective
-
The woman who found Nado said the feline appeared frightened but was in overall good health, according to the news outlet.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
-
Those children hadn’t seemed frightened to me, not visibly anyway.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Police are investigating two recent home burglaries in Los Angeles in which the thieves were confronted by witnesses or scared off by home alarms.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
In 2020, a bout with Covid-19 landed him in the hospital and scared him enough to make some changes.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
The four lead the group of terrified and tiny boys, some who look as young or four- or five-years-old.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
-
Aliens, dystopian nightmares, and twisted realities are more than likely provoking a reaction from viewers that flies a lot closer to terrified.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Victor turned to her, startled.—
‘Pemi Aguda,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
-
The gunfire startled sleeping guests at the Citizen Hotel, which included a wedding party and fans of the rapper Tyler the Creator, who performed at a concert hours earlier.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At the same time, a boy named Henry, who also had to evacuate, is afraid of dogs.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
Native to the Mediterranean, lavender is not afraid of the summer heat.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
Let’s not confuse slightly horrified admiration for Irina’s determination with admiration for her as a person.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
-
As the scene was projected onto a screen, Jude seemed slightly horrified to see himself in front of the camera rather than behind it.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Erin McClymont’s laboratory has six kitchen freezers, each alarmed.—
Hannah Richter,
Scientific American,
7 May 2026
-
Artificial intelligence, far-right ideologies, voracious capitalism — all of it makes Martel alarmed, seeing it as pushing us collectively to the brink of collapse.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
And yet so many fans and media are some cocktail of shocked and outraged over tickets to a World Cup being high, or the travel cost to get here being a lot, or local hotels and public transportation jacking their prices.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
11 May 2026
-
Bush Hager noted, as Bertinelli looked shocked.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spooked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooked. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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