as in scaring
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
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Recent Examples of spooking
Trump is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets.
—
Will Weissert, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
The president is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets.
—ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
Big Tech's spending plans are spooking investors as of late, but these plans could also signal a buying opportunity, according to Canaccord Genuity.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Penn’s presence became a form of soft validation for a project that was already spooking investors, undermining private industry through expropriations, and hollowing out checks and balances.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Jan. 2026
This may signal that condo laws are no longer spooking would-be buyers.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 Dec. 2025
The increasingly circular nature of deals between key AI firms and the emergence of debt financing is also spooking investors, who are quick to draw comparisons to the dot-com bubble.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 27 Nov. 2025
For that same time period, Meta reported rapidly growing costs due to its AI investments, spooking investors and sending its stock down 9 percent.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
This week's headlines in the pet world left us crying tears of joy and sadness—from a puppy watching his mom and siblings get adopted before him to a clip of the Halloween season spooking a canine—but the week wouldn't be complete without a few highlights from our readers.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Will Weissert, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
The president is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets.
—ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
Big Tech's spending plans are spooking investors as of late, but these plans could also signal a buying opportunity, according to Canaccord Genuity.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Penn’s presence became a form of soft validation for a project that was already spooking investors, undermining private industry through expropriations, and hollowing out checks and balances.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Jan. 2026
This may signal that condo laws are no longer spooking would-be buyers.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 Dec. 2025
The increasingly circular nature of deals between key AI firms and the emergence of debt financing is also spooking investors, who are quick to draw comparisons to the dot-com bubble.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 27 Nov. 2025
For that same time period, Meta reported rapidly growing costs due to its AI investments, spooking investors and sending its stock down 9 percent.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
This week's headlines in the pet world left us crying tears of joy and sadness—from a puppy watching his mom and siblings get adopted before him to a clip of the Halloween season spooking a canine—but the week wouldn't be complete without a few highlights from our readers.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooking
Verb
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The growing conflict is also drawing concern on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, scaring away carriers that had sought to make a more regular return to the Suez Canal.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Guadalajara will be hosting matches this summer, in what’s expected to be an economic boon for the state of Jalisco, and Sheinbaum will no doubt be wary of scaring off would-be tourists.—
Gonzalo Zegarra,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
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But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But across the political divide, the bombings are terrifying for many Iranians, with civilian casualities on the rise.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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One 27-year-old Tehran resident said a strike fell a few hundred yards away from her house, terrifying her with the explosion.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spooking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooking. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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