spook
To frighten or make nervousTo frighten or make nervous (especially by startling).
» I didn't mean to spook you.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(transitive)To frighten or make nervous (especially by startling).
The hunters were spooked when the black cat crossed their path. The movement in the bushes spooked the deer and they ran.
пуга́тьpugátʹ, вспугиватьvspugivatʹ
зляка́тиzljakáty
(intransitive)To become frightened (by something startling).
The deer spooked at the sound of the dogs.
(transitive)To haunt.
- frighten or scare, and often provoke into a violent action
Examples
61 sentencesI didn't mean to spook you.
Tom's horse got spooked and bolted before he could mount it.
Something must've spooked Tom.
Tom looked spooked.
Horses are easily spooked.
ruЛошадей легко вспугнуть. — Wezel
dePferde scheuen leicht. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Borrowed from Dutch spook (“ghost”), from Middle Dutch spooc (“spook, ghost”). Cognate witBorrowed from Dutch spook (“ghost”), from Middle Dutch spooc (“spook, ghost”). Cognate with Middle Low German spôk, spûk (“apparition, ghost”), Middle High German gespük (“a haunting”), German Spuk, Danish spøge (“to haunt”), Swedish spöke (“ghost”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
spooks, spooking, spooked, spookedWord family
23 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle