as in scaring
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
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Recent Examples of spooking
Energy policy vacillation in the US is spooking investors and leaving the country less prepared to compete in the global economy.
—
Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 16 Apr. 2026
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
Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 16 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooking
Verb
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This isn’t a film about trauma, or smuggled-in social issues, or anything at all, really, besides the honest workaday business of scaring the bejesus out of its audience, rinsing, and repeating with extra vigor.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
-
And with it almost out in the world, that’s scaring him a little bit.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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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Directed by Lee Sang-min, the film stars Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jong-won as a road-view camera crew that encounters terrifying supernatural events at a remote reservoir.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The air in the room changed immediately, terrifying little Liza.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spooking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooking. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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