spooky
/ˈspuːki/adjective
spooky is spelled S-P-O-O-K-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, spooky means “Eerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in spooky?
| Letters | 6: S-P-O-O-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is spooky?
Spooky appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spooky?
- UK /ˈspuːki/
Spooky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spooky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spooky
- spookier comparative
- spookiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spooky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalEerie, or suggestive of ghosts or the supernatural.
- 2
informalSpooked; afraid; frightened.
- 3
informalUnpredictably excitable; skittish (used especially of horses).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spooky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense eerie; suggestive of ghosts:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | esfrayant, effrayant |
| Portuguese | fantasmagórico |
| Spanish | espeluznante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spooky come from?
From spook + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).