Ghost vs. Spook — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Ghost and Spook
ADVERTISEMENT
Compare with Definitions
Ghost
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike forms.
Spook
(Informal) A ghost; a specter.
Ghost
An apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image
A ghost ship
The building is haunted by the ghost of a monk
Spook
(Slang) A secret agent; a spy.
Ghost
Act as ghostwriter of (a work)
His memoirs were smoothly ghosted by a journalist
ADVERTISEMENT
Spook
Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a black person.
Ghost
Glide smoothly and effortlessly
They ghosted up the river
Spook
To haunt.
Ghost
End a personal relationship with (someone) by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication
I didn't want to ghost her, so we ended up having ‘the talk’ and it was horrible
People who ghost are primarily focused on avoiding their own emotional discomfort
Being ghosted is one of the toughest ways to be dumped
Spook
To startle and cause nervous activity in; frighten
The news spooked investors, and stock prices fell.
Ghost
The spirit of a dead person, especially one that is believed to appear to the living in bodily form or to haunt specific locations.
Spook
To become frightened and nervous.
Ghost
A person's spirit or soul
Was sick for months and finally gave up the ghost.
Spook
(informal) A ghost or phantom.
The building was haunted by a couple of spooks.
Ghost
A returning or haunting memory or image.
Spook
A hobgoblin.
Ghost
A slight or faint trace
Just a ghost of a smile.
Spook
(informal) A scare or fright.
The big spider gave me a spook.
Ghost
The tiniest bit
Not a ghost of a chance.
Spook
An undercover agent or spy.
Ghost
An unwanted image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves.
Spook
A black person.
Ghost
A displaced image in a photograph caused by the optical system of the camera.
Spook
(philosophy) A metaphysical manifestation; an artificial distinction or construct.
Ghost
An unwanted spectral line caused by imperfections in a diffraction grating.
Spook
A psychiatrist.
Ghost
A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the glass.
Spook
A player who engages in hole carding by attempting to glimpse the dealer's hole card when the dealer checks under an ace or a 10 to see if a blackjack is present.
Ghost
(Informal) A ghostwriter.
Spook
(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.
Ghost
A nonexistent publication listed in bibliographies.
Spook
(intransitive) To become frightened (by something startling).
The deer spooked at the sound of the dogs.
Ghost
A fictitious employee or business.
Spook
(transitive) To haunt.
Ghost
(Physiology) A red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
Spook
A spirit; a ghost; an apparition; a hobgoblin.
Ghost
(Informal) To engage in ghostwriting.
Spook
The chimæra.
Ghost
To move noiselessly like a ghost
“Two young deer ghosted out of the woods” (Nancy M. Debevoise).
Spook
Someone unpleasantly strange or eccentric
Ghost
(Informal) To cut off all communication with someone, especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation
Ghosted on him after two dates.
Spook
A mental representation of some haunting experience;
He looked like he had seen a ghost
It aroused specters from his past
Ghost
To haunt.
Spook
Frighten or scare, and often provoke into a violent action;
The noise spooked the horse
Ghost
(Informal) To ghostwrite
Was hired to ghost the memoirs of a famous executive.
Ghost
(Informal) To cut off all communication with (someone), especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation
“In some point in nearly every young millennial's life, they will be ghosted. And not by sad dead bodies from the graveyard, but by idiot living ones from the Internet” (Heather Dockray).
Ghost
The spirit; the human soul.
Ghost
The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.
Everyone believed that the ghost of an old lady haunted the crypt.
Ghost
Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image.
Not a ghost of a chance
The ghost of an idea
Ghost
A false image formed in a telescope, camera, or other optical device by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.
Ghost
An unwanted image similar to and overlapping or adjacent to the main one on a television screen, caused by the transmitted image being received both directly and via reflection.
Ghost
A ghostwriter.
Ghost
A nonexistent person invented to obtain some fraudulent benefit.
Ghost
A dead person whose identity is stolen by another. See ghosting.
Ghost
(Internet) An unresponsive user on IRC, resulting from the user's client disconnecting without notifying the server.
Ghost
(computing) An image of a file or hard disk.
Ghost
(theatre) An understudy.
Ghost
(espionage) A covert (and deniable) agent.
Ghost
The faint image that remains after an attempt to remove graffiti.
Ghost
(video games) An opponent in a racing game that follows a previously recorded route, allowing players to compete against previous best times.
Ghost
Someone whose identity cannot be established because there are no records of him/her.
Ghost
(quantum physics) An unphysical state in a gauge theory.
Ghost
A formerly nonexistent character that was at some point mistakenly encoded into a character set standard, which might have since become used opportunistically for some genuine purpose.
Ghost
(countable) ghost pepper
Ghost
(uncountable) A game in which players take turns to add a letter to a possible word, trying not to complete a word.
Ghost
White or pale.
Ghost slug
Ghost
Transparent or translucent.
Ghost ant
Ghost catfish
Ghost
(attributive) Abandoned.
Ghost town
Ghost ship
Ghost
(attributive) Remnant; the remains of a(n).
Ghost cell
Ghost crater
Ghost image
Ghost
(attributive) Perceived or listed but not real.
Ghost cellphone vibration
Ghost pain
Ghost island
Ghost voter
Ghost
(attributive) Of cryptid, supernatural or extraterrestrial nature.
Ghost rocket
Ghost deer
Ghost
(attributive) Substitute.
Ghost writer
Ghost singer
Ghost
To haunt; to appear to in the form of an apparition.
Ghost
(obsolete) To die; to expire.
Ghost
(literary) To imbue with a ghost-like hue or effect.
Ghost
(ambitransitive) To ghostwrite.
Ghost
(nautical) To sail seemingly without wind.
Ghost
(computing) To copy a file or hard drive image.
Ghost
(GUI) To gray out (a visual item) to indicate that it is unavailable.
Ghost
To forcibly disconnect an IRC user who is using one's reserved nickname.
Ghost
(intransitive) To appear or move without warning, quickly and quietly; to slip.
Ghost
(transitive) To transfer (a prisoner) to another prison without the prior knowledge of other inmates.
Ghost
(slang) To kill.
Ghost
To perform an act of ghosting: to break up with someone without warning or explanation; to ignore someone, especially on social media.
Ghost
(film) To provide the speaking or singing voice for another actor, who is lip-syncing.
Ghost
The spirit; the soul of man.
Then gives her grieved ghost thus to lament.
Ghost
The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death; an apparition; a specter.
The mighty ghosts of our great Harrys rose.
I thought that I had died in sleep,And was a blessed ghost.
Ghost
Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image; a phantom; a glimmering; as, not a ghost of a chance; the ghost of an idea.
Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Ghost
A false image formed in a telescope by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.
And he gave up the ghost full softly.
Jacob . . . yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people
Ghost
To die; to expire.
Ghost
To appear to or haunt in the form of an apparition.
Ghost
A mental representation of some haunting experience;
He looked like he had seen a ghost
It aroused specters from his past
Ghost
A writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else
Ghost
The visible disembodied soul of a dead person
Ghost
A suggestion of some quality;
There was a touch of sarcasm in his tone
He detected a ghost of a smile on her face
Ghost
Move like a ghost;
The masked men ghosted across the moonlit yard
Ghost
Haunt like a ghost; pursue;
Fear of illness haunts her
Ghost
Write for someone else;
How many books have you ghostwritten so far?
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
College vs. LyceumNext Comparison
Tome vs. Volume