as in scaring
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
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Recent Examples of spooking
In 2022, the British prime minister backed a mini-budget featuring a raft of unfunded fiscal stimulus, spooking the City to the extent that the pound spiraled to its lowest value ever against the dollar.
—
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025
The American dream for Orsted , one of the world’s largest developers of offshore wind farms, appears to have turned into a nightmare, spooking investors and casting a shadow over the renewable energy market.
—Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
Food Network is spooking up its programming with the return of Halloween Wars and Halloween Baking Championship.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
The paranormal phenomena spooking Spongebob and Squidward has a mundane explanation, but the entity flickering the lights turns out to be none other than Nosferatu, who reassures them with a terrifying smile; amusingly, Spongebob and Squidward are relieved to see him.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Trade war looms Overseas shipments this year have represented a rare bright spot in the Chinese economy, with domestic spending mired in a slump and persistent woes in the property sector spooking investors.
—Peter Catterall, Fortune Asia, 10 Dec. 2024
The large character begins sniffing at the camera, as though sniffing at the viewer, spooking Rodney.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
European luxury brands may have painted themselves into a corner by dramatically raising prices in recent years, spooking aspirational customers — and testing the resolve of devoted clients.
—Miles Socha, WWD, 25 Nov. 2024
Think stand locations with great entry and exit routes that offer virtually zero odds of spooking deer that might smell, see, or hear you.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 3 Oct. 2024
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025
The American dream for Orsted , one of the world’s largest developers of offshore wind farms, appears to have turned into a nightmare, spooking investors and casting a shadow over the renewable energy market.
—Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
Food Network is spooking up its programming with the return of Halloween Wars and Halloween Baking Championship.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
The paranormal phenomena spooking Spongebob and Squidward has a mundane explanation, but the entity flickering the lights turns out to be none other than Nosferatu, who reassures them with a terrifying smile; amusingly, Spongebob and Squidward are relieved to see him.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Trade war looms Overseas shipments this year have represented a rare bright spot in the Chinese economy, with domestic spending mired in a slump and persistent woes in the property sector spooking investors.
—Peter Catterall, Fortune Asia, 10 Dec. 2024
The large character begins sniffing at the camera, as though sniffing at the viewer, spooking Rodney.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
European luxury brands may have painted themselves into a corner by dramatically raising prices in recent years, spooking aspirational customers — and testing the resolve of devoted clients.
—Miles Socha, WWD, 25 Nov. 2024
Think stand locations with great entry and exit routes that offer virtually zero odds of spooking deer that might smell, see, or hear you.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 3 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooking
Verb
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Though Smith was charged with four counts of assault for scaring and endangering the villagers, troopers did not say he was involved in his mother’s death.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Unlike other security systems that passively report break-ins to customers or police, Sauron security agents are constantly monitoring to provide real-time incident responses such as watching and scaring away a would-be robber via their speaker system.—
Victoria Feng,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instances of swatting have been plaguing the nation for years, with fake shooting threats frightening the public and forcing schools, hospitals, grocery stores, office buildings, and airports into temporary lockdowns.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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On the same day, 100 cyclists, e-bike and dirt bike riders took over a Boston highway, terrifying local drivers.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The tonal whiplash you experience at that point, the sense that Barbarian can be genuinely terrifying one moment and weirdly funny the next, is what transformed the film into a cult hit.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spooking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooking. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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