Standard Lemma guide

spooky

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈspuːki/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːki
  • CMU ARPABET: S P UW1 K IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Eerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eldritch

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Spooked; afraid; frightened.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Unpredictably excitable; skittish (used especially of horses).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

unpredictably excitable (especially of horses)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: skittish, flighty, nervous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From spook + -y.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُخيف (mukhīf) — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Arabic: مُخيفة (mukhīfa) — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Bulgarian: призрачен (prizračen) — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Catalan: esgarrifós — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Catalan: estrany — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Czech: strašidelný — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Finnish: aavemainen — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • French: esfrayant — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • French: effrayant — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Hindi: भुतहा (bhuthā) — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Italian: spaventoso — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Latin: arcānus — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Norwegian: nifs — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Portuguese: fantasmagórico — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Russian: сверхъесте́ственный (sverxʺjestéstvennyj) — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Spanish: espeluznante — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Swedish: spöklik — eerie; suggestive of ghosts
  • Bulgarian: плашлив (plašliv) — unpredictably excitable; skittish
  • Czech: vystrašený — unpredictably excitable; skittish
  • Czech: vyděšený — unpredictably excitable; skittish
  • Russian: норови́стый (norovístyj) — unpredictably excitable; skittish