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
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Eagles exec Howie Roseman traded up a spot and got the defensive tackle ninth after off-field behavior spooked some teams.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Truss's reign was defined by two events—the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a tax slashing mini-budget which spooked the financial markets—triggering a loss of confidence from her own Conservative MPs and the collapse of her administration.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Now Kiki is spooked, walks right out of the party, and basically hitchhikes a ride with some invisible truck driver.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
So far, Oracle’s valuation hasn’t spooked Wall Street, where more than 70% of analysts recommend buying the stock.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2025
Once the Dolphins burned them on a few man-to-man calls during a 2-minute drill that closed the first half, the Patriots were spooked out of man-coverage almost completely.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
In fact, fundamentals take a back seat when investors get spooked by the outlook, and even great stocks can take a beating.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
But the detentions have already spooked foreign investors.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
America’s middle class is spooked about the economy.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Eagles exec Howie Roseman traded up a spot and got the defensive tackle ninth after off-field behavior spooked some teams.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Truss's reign was defined by two events—the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a tax slashing mini-budget which spooked the financial markets—triggering a loss of confidence from her own Conservative MPs and the collapse of her administration.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Now Kiki is spooked, walks right out of the party, and basically hitchhikes a ride with some invisible truck driver.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
So far, Oracle’s valuation hasn’t spooked Wall Street, where more than 70% of analysts recommend buying the stock.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2025
Once the Dolphins burned them on a few man-to-man calls during a 2-minute drill that closed the first half, the Patriots were spooked out of man-coverage almost completely.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
In fact, fundamentals take a back seat when investors get spooked by the outlook, and even great stocks can take a beating.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
But the detentions have already spooked foreign investors.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooked
Adjective
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The frightened campers are supposed to deliver the scares — but that only works as a set-up if the villain is lurking behind the next tree.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
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Republicans are frightened, too.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And in the movie’s eyes, that central lie is still passing along Bessie’s tragedy to new sets of ears, and thus neither our hero’s best friend nor that scared young boy in Eastern Europe is ever truly forgotten.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
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Plus, the field may be scared away after Rachaad White scored the game-winning touchdown against the Texans on Monday night.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Here, Johnny tries to go for it again with that same urgency, only for Gheorghe to insist on gentleness, tenderness, and yes, an actual first kiss, even as Johnny is visibly terrified.—
James Factora,
Them.,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Captains of industry all look terrified of pissing off the wrong powerful guy.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sleep may be disturbed by a pet's movements, and dogs may bite if startled.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
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In this episode, after Kirsch points out that the eyeball/sheep-thing intentionally startled and trapped Isaac — and not for its own benefit, but to assist another alien — Kavalier decides to have a conversation with the beast, starting by asking it to recite the digits of pi.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Taylor Swift knows what excellence requires and is not afraid to demand it.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
29 Sep. 2025
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Don’t be afraid to use your gut instinct.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The Prime Video series ends with a horrified Daniel looking at Cherry, who's shown smiling at him with her hands calmly resting on very pregnant belly.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
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Hoffman can’t help but cut me off in horrified pity.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But other times, a lot of the expressions that people interpret in the film as scared and alarmed or vexed by the invisible forces are the results of things on set that are just bizarre and kind of hilarious.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Sep. 2025
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News of Tesla’s robotaxi plans surprised and alarmed regulators, according to emails among California and federal officials and a Tesla public-policy staffer, which Reuters obtained through a public-records request.—
Chris Kirkham,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And then at Veejay’s station — well, there are no clothes made yet, and Christian is shocked.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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Violence prevention members ‘shocked’ at decision In addition to mockery from gun groups, the program met stiff opposition from its own members and longtime supporters.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spooked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooked. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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