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spooks 1 of 2

noun

plural of spook
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

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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

spooks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of spook
as in scares
to strike with fear the sudden noise spooked her out of her skin

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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
Noun
In general, most experts agree that for a foreign vote-changing scheme to work, spooks would have to get physical access to the casting and counting systems used in thousands of different locations scattered around the country. — Philip Elliott, Time, 17 July 2026 Something about the appearance of a full moon spooks Dashing, who claims to head off in search of a dangerous werewolf (a claim that later proves to be at least half true). — Tanya Sharma, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026 Portofiro and the baroque universe surrounding it—communists on-world, techno-fascists offplanet, and all manner of augmentoids and spooks in the immaterial planes between—can make for a dizzying read. — Alex James Kane, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026 Remember that movement spooks turkeys more than anything else. — Bruce Brady, Outdoor Life, 8 Apr. 2026 Anthropic spooks cyber firms; eyes IPO. — John Kell, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026 The translation squeaks and spooks with imagery of haunts and death. — Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 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
  1. spies
  2. spirits
  3. scares
  4. operatives
  5. ghosts
  6. frightens
  7. agents
  8. apparitions
Noun
  • Five categories of spies are described, and espionage is treated as essential to providing rulers and commanders with the foreknowledge needed to make informed strategic decisions.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Beyond bioweapons, Russia spies Anthropic also uncovered a Russian espionage operation that used Claude to automate much of its cyber campaign.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of spies
Noun
  • There was a famous movie in the ’80s called ‘The Entity,’ a horror movie where a woman is visited by spirits and has sex with them.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
  • These adaptogenics also cost as much, if not more, than alcoholic spirits, such as Three Spirit, which incorporates ingredients such as guayusa (stimulating effects), damiana (aphrodisiac effects) and valerian (stress-relieving effects).
    — Esther Tseng, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of spirits
Verb
  • What scares me is to see so many people traveling so fast with electric power and with, presumably, no training!
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The protective gear that the firefighters are wearing also scares him.
    — Julie Dobrow, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of scares
Noun
  • According to the report, 1,250 Hezbollah operatives are active in Germany.
    — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • In his view, Party operatives, who tend to be young, coastal, and college-educated, put their own policy preferences ahead of the median voter, who is a white fiftysomething with a high-school education living in the suburbs.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of operatives
Noun
  • My aunties are more straightforward, seeing ghosts, that kind of thing.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Back to the ghosts Zwicker also is the author of books about haunted places in New England.
    — Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of ghosts
Verb
  • The prospect of Sean Steur or Lewis Hall — whose contract situation Wilson refused to be drawn on, despite being asked three times — leaving is not something which frightens the hierarchy.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Penelope, too, is asked to occupy a landscape that frightens her, not only as a neurodivergent child in a neurotypical culture, but as a child now situated in an adult world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of frightens
Noun
  • Let agents manage preparation, monitoring, first drafts and coordination, and reserve for yourself the work a model cannot touch.
    — Lital Marom, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • This breakthrough has led market participants to view consumer-facing AI agents as truly entering a phase of large-scale adoption.
    — , CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of agents
Noun
  • That is, until miraculous apparitions turn it into a place to be.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • Today, the massive complex attracts paranormal investigators who report apparitions, voices, and other unexplained phenomena.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026
Definition of apparitions

Browse Nearby Words

spookish
spooks
spooky
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Cite this Entry

“Spooks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooks. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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