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 vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The film’s musical score, by Damon Albarn of Blur, has a haunting Bowie-like party-on-the-abyss shimmer.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of haunting
Adjective
  • Graveyards, which would seem haunted by definition, are popular destinations, and a few in the state are legendary for their eerie atmospheres and ghost sightings.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
  • See 15 inflatables and eight animatronics lining the lawn, creating a scene that’s both eerie and whimsical to delights neighbors.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of eerie
Adjective
  • Palmer doesn’t appear until the last 15 minutes, but her creepy performance is indelible.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • As her son Rauri, Murphy plays a creepy, brooding university dropout whom audiences also can’t help sympathize with.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 18 Oct. 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 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All