spooky

[ spoo-kee ]

See synonyms for spooky on Thesaurus.com

adjective,spook·i·er, spook·i·est.Informal.

like or befitting a spook or ghost; suggestive of spooks.
eerie; scary.

(especially of horses) nervous; skittish.

Origin of spooky

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; spook + -y¹

Other words from spooky

spook·i·ly, adverb
spook·i·ness, noun

Words Nearby spooky

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spooky in a sentence

Warne looked—in the words of the Daily Mail—“like a spooky waxwork.”
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress | Tim Teeman | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
spooky Tooth had reformed quite a while before I received the call and were touring quite often.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More | Gary Wright | September 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
When we all saw this, both my brothers turned to look at me in the car and pulled ‘spooky’ faces at me.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death | Patricia Pearson | August 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“As much as I love sunny meadows and bunnies, I also love spooky forests with owls,” she says.
The Wonderful Weirdness of Christine McConnell, Queen of Creepy Cookies | Tim Teeman | July 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Formerly a playground for Sunday school kids, it has a spooky, cloistered feel to it.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial | Ivan Solotaroff | June 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I don't believe there is anything spooky about that building.
The Pony Rider Boys in Texas | Frank Gee Patchin
"I hate to go through the grove, it's so spooky," she said, as they hurried along.
Tom Slade with the Colors | Percy K. Fitzhugh
And again the ghostly hoot of the owl made the little patch of woods seem more spooky and lonesome.
Tom Slade with the Colors | Percy K. Fitzhugh
A lonely owl answered with a dismal shriek from a distant tree, making the night seem still more spooky.
Tom Slade with the Colors | Percy K. Fitzhugh
Those were gnomes—the real spooky, spinky kind that give you the shivers up and down your back when they're out gnoming.
The Pony Rider Boys on the Blue Ridge | Frank Gee Patchin

British Dictionary definitions for spooky

spooky

/ (ˈspuːkɪ) /

adjectivespookier or spookiest informal

ghostly or eerie: a spooky house
resembling or appropriate to a ghost

US easily frightened; highly strung

Derived forms of spooky

spookily, adverb
spookiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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