spooky

adjective

ˈspü-kē How to pronounce spooky (audio)
Definition of spookynext
1
as in excitable
easily excited by nature a spooky horse shying at shadows

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in eerie
fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic a spooky tale of strange hauntings and mysterious reincarnations

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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 spooky Unfortunately, there are too many good films coming out this month to only make time for horror during the spookiest season of the year, and the Netflix library makes things particularly difficult. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2026 Note the Saturday daytime fest hours are more kid-friendly, with spookier fun unfolding at dusk. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026 The 20th century in particular abounded in such visions, some of which—The Handmaid’s Tale, or Brave New World, published in 1932 and getting spookier every day—have proved more prophetic than others. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz and the Deetz family offer a slightly spookier option for families looking beyond traditional matching costumes. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spooky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spooky
  1. excitable
  2. eerie
  3. nervous
  4. haunting
  5. creepy
Adjective
  • Kalind, the younger brother of a bonobo named Kevin, was the more excitable and playful of the two.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, Deanna is a proud mother of three and an excitable introvert.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of excitable
Adjective
  • For instance, Siri’s lack of thinking power compared with other ultra-smart AI agents means that there’s far less of a chance of going rogue, or behaving in eerie ways.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister An eerie fable that seems to take place across and outside of time, The Bog Wife is already a classic of the modern bog-core genre.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of eerie
Adjective
  • Any agency whose main product is activity rather than thinking should be very nervous right now; frankly, some of them should have been nervous years ago.
    — Angelica Kopec, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Consumers in the country, nervous about the shaky economy, are loading up on gold jewelry, bars and coins.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of nervous
Adjective
  • The vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The film’s musical score, by Damon Albarn of Blur, has a haunting Bowie-like party-on-the-abyss shimmer.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of haunting
Adjective
  • Palmer doesn’t appear until the last 15 minutes, but her creepy performance is indelible.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • As her son Rauri, Murphy plays a creepy, brooding university dropout whom audiences also can’t help sympathize with.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of creepy

Browse Nearby Words

spooks
spooky
spoon
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Cite this Entry

“Spooky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spooky. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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