spook 1 of 2

noun

ˈspük How to pronounce spook (audio)
Definition of spooknext
1
as in spy
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 ghost
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

spook

2 of 2

verb

as in to frighten
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 spook
Noun
Spies are back, at least according to rising star Agnes O’Casey, who is playing four agent roles this year and who unsurprisingly has some thoughts about the most famous spook of all. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026 The market got a spook earlier this year because private credit funds have lent heavily to the software industry — under threat from AI — and many investors sought to cash out funds. — J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
Once you’re sufficiently spooked, check out the wineries, hiking trails, and restaurants, all located just a short drive from the property. — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Oct. 2026 That number spooked Wall Street, and shares dropped following the report. — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spook
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spook
  1. spy
  2. ghost
  3. frighten
  4. operative
  5. apparition
  6. scare
  7. agent
  8. spirit
Noun
  • Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control section, which prosecutes spies, is assisting the DOJ in the case.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of spy
Noun
  • Spirit Airlines' ghost planes The problems with young retirements predate Spirit's collapse.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In 2026, the gemlike Brooklyn venue lent Kushner’s project a magical quality, turning the audience into ghosts from the future, eavesdropping on the fall of the Weimar Republic but unable to intervene.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of ghost
Verb
  • For Cox and Walker, the challenge was to introduce horror-film conventions without frightening the franchise’s youngest viewers.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Guitarricadelafuente said he was initially frightened by the prospect of acting in La Bola Negra.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of frighten
Noun
  • Later that year, the Russian operative gave the Dutch spies access to one of the GRU’s most sensitive assets.
    — Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Still, Friend soon landed Pride & Prejudice and eventually got to play a CIA operative on Homeland.
    — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of operative
Noun
  • The location was a former sugarcane plantation notorious for cruelty, and accounts of apparitions in the water are a reminder of this history.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • After the vocal chorus, Astaire sees an apparition—Pan, costumed in Halloween drag.
    — David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of apparition
Verb
  • The anti-45 campaign is trying to scare voters with a Halloween bogeyman.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Although Down was not the victim, the case definitely scared her family.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of scare
Noun
  • According to Jáuregui’s defense team, the federal prosecutor’s office said the agents were close to the person who led the operation, the Chihuahua investigations chief who was one of two deceased Mexicans.
    — María Verza, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Even nicotine-free formulas contain flavorings and solvent agents like propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of agent
Noun
  • In the spirit of B-movie icons like Roger Corman, the film was shot in four days for $40,000 in order to celebrate Chris LaMartina’s 40th birthday.
    — William Earl, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In that spirit, three articles offering guidance across the course of a woman’s life were published Monday in Circulation.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of spirit

Browse Nearby Words

spoofs
spook
spooked
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Cite this Entry

“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spook. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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