spookier; spookiest
1
: strange, unsettling, or frightening in a way that suggests the supernatural : eerie, uncanny
[Caroline] Shaw's composition … is a mysterious and densely layered four-movement work … with vocalization and spookier in-between sounds that originate deep in the throat: moans, gasps, exhalations of breath.—
Gia Kourlas
Gia KourlasOlivia Wilde's new film … owes a debt to many spooky dramas about the dark side of the suburbs—think The Stepford Wives, with even more of a sci-fi edge.—David Sims
David Sims
sometimes, specifically
: relating to, resembling, or suggesting ghosts or spooks
Spooky stories of Hawaiian night marchers (ghosts of warriors and chiefs) lurking around bushes and walking the trail are often told, but these haunted tales are not true, according to Lopaka Kapanui, a Native Hawaiian master storyteller … —Christina Hitt
Christina Hitt Examples of spooky in a Sentence
The music was pretty spooky.
a spooky horse shying at shadows
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Hutcherson is back as Mike, the security guard who must babysit the zany, spooky and dumpy Chuck E. Cheese-like pizza parlor.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2025
With overtones of the spooky spoon bit in the horror movie Get Out, the singer stirs a cup of tea and then lets go as the spoon continues its circles without her.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 17 Mar. 2025
The officers led Goldie back, and Gladys climbed into the saddle and rode the rest of the way, with the spooky horse walking on his hind legs much of the time.
—Ben East, Outdoor Life, 14 Mar. 2025
This week's full moon will come with a special treat – a total lunar eclipse, which will turn the moon a spooky blood red color.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spooky
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Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2025
With overtones of the spooky spoon bit in the horror movie Get Out, the singer stirs a cup of tea and then lets go as the spoon continues its circles without her.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 17 Mar. 2025
The officers led Goldie back, and Gladys climbed into the saddle and rode the rest of the way, with the spooky horse walking on his hind legs much of the time.
—Ben East, Outdoor Life, 14 Mar. 2025
This week's full moon will come with a special treat – a total lunar eclipse, which will turn the moon a spooky blood red color.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spooky
Cite this Entry
“Spooky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spooky. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spooky
adjective
spookier; spookiest
1
: relating to, resembling, or suggesting ghosts
spooky houses
2
: skittish sense 2
a spooky horse
spookiness
noun
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