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Spook vs Alarm - What's the difference?

spook | alarm |

As nouns the difference between spook and alarm

is that spook is a spirit returning to haunt a place while alarm is alert, alarm.

As a verb spook

is to scare or frighten.

spook

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A spirit returning to haunt a place.
  • The visit to the old cemetery brought scary visions of spooks and ghosts.
  • A ghost or an apparition.
  • The building was haunted by a couple of spooks .
  • A hobgoblin.
  • (espionage) A spy.
  • * 2009 , "Spies like them", BBC News Magazine (online), 24 July 2009:
  • From Ian Fleming to John Le Carre - authors have long been fascinated by the world of espionage. But, asks the BBC’s Gordon Corera, what do real life spooks make of fictional spies?
  • * 2012 , The Economist, Oct 13th 2012, Huawei and ZTE: Put on hold
  • The congressional study frets that Huawei’s and ZTE’s products could be used as Trojan horses by Chinese spooks .
  • A scare or fright.
  • The big spider gave me a spook .
  • (dated, pejorative) A black person.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To scare or frighten.
  • To startle or frighten an animal
  • The movement in the bushes spooked the deer and they ran.

    Derived terms

    * spookiness * spookish * spook out * spooky

    See also

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    alarm

    English

    Alternative forms

    * alarum

    Noun

  • A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
  • ''Arming to answer in a night alarm . --Shakespeare.
  • Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
  • ''Sound an alarm in my holy mountain. --Joel ii. 1.
  • A sudden attack; disturbance.
  • * Shakespeare
  • these home alarms
  • * Alexander Pope
  • thy palace fill with insults and alarms
  • Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.
  • ''Alarm and resentment spread throughout the camp. --.
  • A mechanical device for awaking people, or rousing their attention.
  • ''The clockradio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside
  • An instance of an alarum ringing or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.
  • ''You should set the alarm on your watch to go off at seven o'clock.

    See also

    * tocsin

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To call to arms for defense
  • To give (someone) notice of approaching danger
  • To rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert.
  • To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
  • To keep in excitement; to disturb.
  • References

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----