spooky

[ spoo-kee ]

/ ˈspu ki /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

Origin of spooky

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

Related formsspook·i·ly, adverbspook·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spooky

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|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|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|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|DAILY BEAST

The very questions are spooky, and the answers Obama eventually will have to supply, in one fashion or another, will be dangerous.
Leslie H. Gelb on Obama’s Dangerous Nuclear Dance|Leslie H. Gelb|April 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“This would be a spooky place at night,” Midge declared as they started up the lane.
Dan Carter and the Money Box|Mildred A. Wirt
“What a horrid, spooky place,” she spoke with a shiver, peering within.
Mountain Blood|Joseph Hergesheimer
Spooky isn't particular so long as the house is big enough to be comfortable.
The Burgess Bird Book for Children|Thornton W. Burgess
It was all still and spooky and you could hear the clock ticking, and I counted the ticks.
Roy Blakeley|Percy Keese Fitzhugh
The trees were very dense, and made the place look gloomy, and as Bandy-legs declared, "spooky."
The Strange Cabin on Catamount Island|Lawrence J. Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for spooky

spooky

/ (ˈspuːkɪ) /

adjective spookier or spookiest informal

ghostly or eeriea spooky house

resembling or appropriate to a ghost

US easily frightened; highly strung

Derived Formsspookily, adverbspookiness, 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

Word Origin and History for spooky

spooky

adj.

1854, "frightening;" 1926, "easily frightened," from spook (v.) + -y (2). Related: Spookily; spookiness.

spooky

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

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Nearby words

Origin of spooky

Examples from the Web for spooky

British Dictionary definitions for spooky

spooky

adjective spookier or spookiest informal

Word Origin and History for spooky

spooky