spooked 1 of 2

adjective

as in frightened
filled with fear or dread Ichabod Crane was so spooked that he left Sleepy Hollow for good

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

spooked

2 of 2

verb

past tense of spook
as in scared
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 spooked
Adjective
Know what would make Whitney less spooked? — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 June 2026 The Grammy Award-winning superstar took to Instagram to share her experience, which left her spooked and unable to sleep. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
On the other hand, lettuce saw its largest month-over-month price decline on record as the cyclospora outbreak spooked consumers. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026 Then two bucks appeared – none of which were in the group of whitetails that had spooked previously. — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026 That should reassure investors who were spooked by softer attendance at Universal’s domestic parks when Comcast reported earnings last month. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026 Roo, who was microchipped, had recently been adopted before getting spooked and running away. — Kat Filardi, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026 On one side were animal rights activists who said carriage horses are overworked, get easily spooked on city streets, live in inadequate stables and are controlled by abusive owners and drivers. — Barry Williams, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026 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 The dog had been missing since the Fourth of July after getting spooked by the holiday’s sounds. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooked
  1. frightened
  2. scared
  3. terrified
  4. startled
  5. afraid
  6. horrified
  7. alarmed
  8. shocked
Adjective
  • Officers initially discovered more than 30 cats and kittens living in unsafe conditions aboard the vessel, with many appearing frightened and malnourished.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Think of yourself as the captain of your ship versus one frightened passenger, the conductor instead of one instrument in the orchestra or the CEO rather than one anxious shareholder in the boardroom.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of frightened
Verb
  • The ones who are guessing or scared or covering a gap in their own thinking are the ones who dress uncertainty up in language that sounds important.
    — Jeremy Macliver, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Gamache immediately raced his boat toward the group, and the approaching vessel apparently scared the alligator away.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • During the attack, terrified students huddled together under their desks, sobbing as gunshots rang out nearby, video filmed inside a classroom and verified by CNN showed.
    — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • At a news conference, Twin Falls police released dramatic surveillance video that showed terrified employees diving for cover and shielding one another.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrified
Verb
  • The 10-episode first season (critics received six for review) opens in the early hours of the morning, when Anna is startled awake by a phone call.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Witness Hoon Chan Sim, 53, was sitting on a park lawn with his dog near West Drive when he was startled by the squeal of braking tires, and spun around to see the horrific collision.
    — Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026
Definition of startled
Adjective
  • So my encouragement to young Latino artists out there is to keep creating and don’t be afraid of creating.
    — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Not afraid of breaking tradition, Morgan and Jezzel decided to find their wedding gowns together and made eight salon visits in two weeks.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • When Tae-ha starts a fire that erupts into an explosion, a horrified Eun-sae begins to remember her life before amnesia.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In one early scene, a horrified Pam stares into her bathroom mirror, covered head to toe in blood.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 13 July 2026
Definition of horrified
Adjective
  • Chan's death comes after celebrity blogger Perez Hilton also alarmed fans on a TikTok livestream when police were called to his home after reports of self-harm.
    — Moises Mendez II, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Bullard said after practice that the injury wasn’t anything to be alarmed about.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of alarmed
Adjective
  • Shell-shocked, Daemon appears ready to woozily charge into his final battle, death with his sword swinging.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Owens immediately went after Balor and Gunther while Zayn stood in the ring shocked.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of shocked

Browse Nearby Words

spook
spooked
spooking
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Cite this Entry

“Spooked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooked. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of spooked for Spanish Speakers

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