spooky
/ˈspuːki/
"spooky" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spooky” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,420 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #14,420
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Eerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | spooky |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈspuːki/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #14,420 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “spooky” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for spooky is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈspuːki/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,420 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for spooky, with forms such as "psooky", "sopoky", and "spokoy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "spoon", "spool", "spoons", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From spook + -y. The correct English form is spooky, spelled S-P-O-O-K-Y.
Definition
- 1Eerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural.
- 2Spooked; afraid; frightened.
- 3Unpredictably excitable; skittish (used especially of horses).
Etymology
From spook + -y.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: psooky,sopoky,spokoy,spoky,spookky,spookyy,spooyk,sppooky,sspooky
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spooky - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "spooky"?
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What words are commonly confused with "spooky"?
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Using “spooky”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-O-O-K-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈspuːki/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “spoon” - see the side-by-side comparison. spooky vs spoon
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.