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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

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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 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 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
  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
  • One of the Roundhouse’s biggest brags is an extensive liquor collection, highlighting spirits produced in New York State.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper was sore but in good spirits on Sunday morning after he was struck by a pitch on the back of his right shoulder in Saturday’s victory.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 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
  • Slow Horses fanatics will recognize her as one of the veteran MI5 operatives stuck in the agency’s version of purgatory, known as Slough House.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Neither allowed al-Qaeda to establish new training camps, and Pakistani authorities, in particular, regularly helped the United States arrest and kill the group’s operatives.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of operatives
Noun
  • In an effort to explain away his decision, Kiffin reintroduced old ghosts.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Both of these tales were derived from the folk legends and mythologies involving witches and ghosts that were still prevalent along the Hudson Valley.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 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
  • Patel later suggested that the scope of firings had been overblown, saying many agents had retired on their own.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Agents can call APIs, query databases, retrieve documents, invoke other models, generate files, trigger workflows, connect to SaaS platforms and even delegate work to other agents.
    — Nicola Sfondrini, Forbes.com, 15 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 19 Sep. 2026.

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