spookish

adjective

Definition of spookishnext
as in haunting
fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic the spookish interior of a Victorian mansion that had seen better days

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spookish
  1. haunting
  2. eerie
  3. creepy
Adjective
  • The comment takes on a haunting resonance three months later, after Panettiere was found unresponsive on a Sunday.
    — Krystie Lee Yandoli, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The result is a haunting portrait of social collapse whose power is premised on the words and faces of survivors.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of haunting
Adjective
  • Fog has an eerie and enchanting way of coloring how humans perceive our surroundings—and scientists are discovering that the atmospheric phenomenon may remake microbes’ experience of their environment, too.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The actress recalled the eerie deaths and accidents that happened during the shoot of the film, including a fire that ravaged a great part of the set and one of the crew members who lost their newborn child.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of eerie
Adjective
  • Halloween is next month, but these creepy crawlies are getting an early start to the spooky season.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • After a freak accident, Frank the bunny appears in an outstandingly creepy fashion to inform Donnie Darko of the world's impending doom.
    — Grace Dean, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of creepy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

spooking
spookish
spooks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spookish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spookish. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of hobnob

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All