1
as in spies
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
Russia recalled its spooks after the collapse of the Soviet Union
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in spirits
the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people
Halloween is the night when spooks and goblins are said to roam abroad
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in scares
to strike with fear
the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of spooks
Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
There are even more spooks in the follow-up season, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
—Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield are iconic characters that are wonderfully resurrected in this remake, the spooks are top notch, and the whole thing looks, sounds, and plays unbelievably.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
The translation squeaks and spooks with imagery of haunts and death.
—Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
There are even more spooks in the follow-up season, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
—Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield are iconic characters that are wonderfully resurrected in this remake, the spooks are top notch, and the whole thing looks, sounds, and plays unbelievably.
—Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
That confidence spooks your rivals!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooks
Noun
-
We were supposed to be spies with hats.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The events occurred in and around the lawless border of Venezuela and Colombia, where spies, smugglers and gun runners rub shoulders and distrust their own shadow.—
Kevin G. Hall,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Despite its name, the bar operates as a globally minded cocktail destination with equal attention paid to other spirits, along with small bites and an impressive cigar selection.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
8 Jan. 2026
-
And for Dirty Shirleys, different spirits, including vodka, gin, tequila and vermouth can be substituted.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
What scares those in the world of pediatrics, though, is imagining how the new schedule could play out over time.—
Isabella Cueto,
STAT,
6 Jan. 2026
-
What's the thing that scares me the most?—
NBC news,
NBC news,
28 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Khanna’s public statements haven’t stopped pro-China operatives from targeting him in their influence operations, however.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Everyone was deemed an armed terrorist, on par with the depictions of Al Qaeda operatives in Afghan caves, and thus the face of a minister for youth and sports could be plastered with a red X on Israel’s official government channels, the same as Osama bin Laden’s.—
Séamus Malekafzali,
Washington Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These ghosts, which take the form of their dead friends, are mostly just goofy, with the shoddy special effects and glowy auras giving the whole thing a distinctly Haunted Mansion vibe; critically, the threat never feels real, which undermines any tension.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The ghosts of a 37-0 shutout to Iowa less than a month ago still lingered — the boos that faded into silence, the homecoming crowd that emptied before the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stuck on humiliation.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Baker says what frightens her most is whether younger generations will ever be able to step off that wheel — to build generational wealth through homeownership.—
Elizabeth Prann,
The Hill,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Within my book, one of the things that frightens me most is the fact that with censorship, there’s often not a clear red line, right?—
Fiction Non Fiction
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to protest federal immigration activity after agents were involved in two different shootings this week, one that left a woman dead in Minneapolis and another that wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Some who marched carried signs of Good as well as others who have been killed by ICE agents or died while in ICE custody.—
Chaewon Chung,
Sacbee.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sam slips back into her addiction and as her alcoholism worsens, so do the visions and apparitions that seem to be haunting the forest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
-
One of the most stunning exhibitions of the year put the spotlight on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which has a long history dating back to 1531, tied to four apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a peasant in Mexico.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spooks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooks. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share