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

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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

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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
  • Most of these freelancers stayed in the Hotel Istanbul, which was home to a rotating cast of war tourists, jihadis, drifters, and spies.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The actor grew up immersed in the entertainment business as the son of one of Hollywood's most famous spies.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of spies
Noun
  • The wines and spirits division maintained its momentum with a 6 percent increase in organic sales, while revenues in perfumes and cosmetics were flat in the quarter.
    — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • These competitive spirits must defeat someone else, proving their mastery of the English language in the arena.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of spirits
Verb
  • In the most basic sense, a film in which supernatural scares arise courtesy of negative space ought to at least have thoughtful framing, but the endless series of startles arrive with the same weight and energy as the fake outs.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Kennedy, who was an anti-vaccine activist before entering politics and has sent mixed messages to Americans about getting the measles vaccine, scares her.
    — Ali Swenson, STAT, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of scares
Noun
  • Jamal allegedly promised to protect the Feeding Our Future operatives against the threat of prosecution, took their money, and then turned some of them over to investigators.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026
  • To the continued amazement of advantage players, casino operatives can argue with apparent conviction that card counting— essentially mental arithmetic—is a form of fraud.
    — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of operatives
Noun
  • Members of her immediate family have multiple wives, and a close friend claims to see ghosts.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Their paranormal intervention involves Dichen Lachman as Lois Anthony, in a role best described as Chris Hansen for ghosts.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 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
  • Belgal was shot by ICE Thursday, according to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said agents surrounded the man and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple times.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
  • On the other hand, those whiz-bang AI agents could simply shift companies’ existing software spending rather than actually grow it as hoped.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Oct. 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 17 Oct. 2026.

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