adjective
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ghostly or eerie
a spooky house
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resembling or appropriate to a ghost
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easily frightened; highly strung
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spooky
Explanation
Spooky things make a shiver go down your spine—they're scary or creepy. A movie's spooky music might be enough to make you cover your eyes in fear. This informal adjective is perfect for talking about things that make you feel afraid or deeply uneasy. Haunted houses are spooky, and the sound of quiet footsteps crunching through the leaves outside your tent at night are spooky too—at least until your brother yells, "Boo!" You can also use spooky to mean "easily spooked," like a nervous horse that jumps at the slightest sound.
Vocabulary lists containing spooky
October Words
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Strange
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Strange
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I’ve written extensively about my love for sour candies, so naturally, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try TJ’s Spooky Bats & Cats Sour Gummy Candies.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2025
Spooky Meter: 4/5 This is the only location on our list where the reporter experienced potentially paranormal activity, when a martini glass slid across the table seemingly of its own volition.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2024
Spooky season started out as a celebration of life… and the end of it.
From Slate • Oct. 31, 2023
“Go have fun and eat lots of candy,” she told a group of costumed children after she read “Ten Spooky Pumpkins,” a counting book.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 30, 2023
Tearful, feverish, and scratching, she had to explain to her teacher why “Damp and Spooky: The Depiction of Grottos in Ominous Landscapes” would not be handed in on time.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
