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
Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooks
Noun
-
The duo plays Emily and Matt, a married pair of ex-CIA spies forced out of retirement and back into the world of espionage after their secret identities are revealed.—
Jacqueline Weiss,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Cianfrance supplies a real jerk of a manager in Peter Dinklage’s Mitch, on whom Jeffrey spies by setting up baby monitors in the back office.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But the new film, set in 1986, finds the Warrens dealing with a bunch of personal matters, as well as a Pennsylvania family haunted by a mirror cursed with malevolent spirits.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Founded in London in 1969, the IWSC is renowned for its rigorous blind tastings and expert judging panels, which annually evaluate thousands of entries across all major spirits categories.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But for both actors, their horror movies are more about love than scares.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Slurp scares, and is scared, at the Haunted Hacienda in Pilgrim World.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The report also detailed how its AI capabilities were being misused by North Korean operatives who used it to obtain remote jobs at tech companies.—
Steve Weisman,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
In September 2024, Israel blew up the group’s pagers, causing gruesome injuries as the devices detonated in Hezbollah operatives’ pockets.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The thrill of talking to ghosts is intoxicating at first, until one of them pushes things too far and invites something sinister into their lives.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Not ghosts, not demons, not Nun, not even Nun II.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Many of us are conditioned to think that our ultimate goal in life is to be with someone, so much so, that the mere thought of being alone frightens us.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In the beginning of August, agents located a 38-foot center-console boat with three outboard engines behind a Dania Beach home.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
-
In the first week of January, Bovino sent 60 agents hundreds of miles to Bakersfield, California, to make 78 arrests at farms and businesses.—
Elliot Spagat,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Todd, the neighbor, even the strange apparitions are obfuscated simply because of their height, which adds to the eerieness of Indy’s experience but also makes Indy’s recognition of Todd’s voice all the more emotional.—
Rafael Motamayor,
IndieWire,
10 Mar. 2025
-
Harker’s lonely investigations are often interrupted by jump scares courtesy of dark apparitions with the silhouettes of nesting dolls.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Vulture,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spooks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooks. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share