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
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
Verb
The company on Wednesday reported its 12th straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth, but investors were spooked by a spike in its artificial intelligence capital spending forecast to between $195 billion and $205 billion. — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026 Meriwether managed to wrangle him back in with a script rewrite, but the question mark remained if he might get spooked again. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 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
  • In interviews with federal agents and later with CNN, his family dismissed the notion that Beloozerov may have been a spy.
    — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Margaretha Zelle MacLeod’s stage name came to signify the epitome of the seductive female spy after she was executed by the French in 1917.
    — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of spy
Noun
  • Crow-Armstrong’s single to center leading off the 11th sent Kelly, the ghost runner, home from second.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • There’s ghosts, there’s futures, there’s residue in this building—there’s sweat from colonial histories that reside in brick and concrete for centuries.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of ghost
Verb
  • Diego Gomez is a stop-gap alternative, but Mitoma remains a key figure who frightens opposing defences with his dribbling speed and influential record in the top flight.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But what frightened me most was not death alone, but the idea of dying before my writings reached the world—that my story would disappear with me, and that my feelings, my memories, my identity, and my human experience would be erased.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of frighten
Noun
  • Those details line up with other hallmarks of a figure ripe for spy recruitment, said Eric O’Neill, a former FBI counterintelligence operative.
    — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The Paramount+ spy thriller, now in its third season, follows Joe, the leader of the CIA’s covert Lioness Program, which recruits female operatives to befriend women connected to high-value terrorist targets.
    — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of operative
Noun
  • That is, until miraculous apparitions turn it into a place to be.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • The music starts to shift beginning with the third episode, when Lestat becomes overwhelmed by the apparition of his abusive maker and other ghosts, including Claudia, whose killing he’d been forced to witness firsthand.
    — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Definition of apparition
Verb
  • Ten sailors died in one attack, which has scared away nearly all international ships.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The exposure obviously scares him, but not enough to stop him from filming his next scene, where he’s been tasked with breaking in newcomer Cami Soul.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of scare
Noun
  • The attorney said the agents cut off the SUV and slammed on their brakes.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Anger toward the people who encouraged Beloozerov to pass information to them, and anger toward the agents who killed him.
    — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of agent
Noun
  • In that spirit, don’t expect to see superstars such as Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw or Nick Bosa.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The backstory L’Auberge Carmel, a Relais & Châteaux property, was built in 1929 as a commission for Allen Knight, an adventurer and author, as a way to bring together the artistic spirit of Carmel-by-the-Sea and European traditions.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Aug. 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 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of spook for Spanish Speakers

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