Meanings
- uncountablenatural sciencesSynonym of quantum entanglement.
The correlations are thus due either to entanglement, as predicted by quantum physics, or to some hypothetical spooky action at a distance whose speed we wish to bound from below.
2008 August 14, Daniel Salart, Augustin Baas, Cyril Branciard, Nicolas Gisin, Hugo Zbinden, “Testing the speed of ‘spooky action at a distance’”, in Nature, volume 454, number 7206, →DOI, page 8632 more examples
Of course, such a correlation is in principle possible to explain without any spooky action-at-a-distance: simply assume that the “particle” really is a particle, with a definite location at all times, and about half the time the particle goes to the right and half the time it goes to the left.
2011, Tim Maudlin, Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 240Once one is lead down this path, it is inevitable to conclude that spooky action at a distance occurs in nature. On the other hand, if one eschews the ontological interpretation of the wave function, then “action at a distance” is, at best, descriptive of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. One must be extremely wary of extending such inferences to physical reality itself.
2022 April 16, Stephen Boughn, “There Is No Spooky Action at a Distance in Quantum Mechanics”, in Entropy, volume 24, number 4, →DOI, page 560-6Synonyms: quantum entanglement
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of quantum entanglement.
Origin
- Germanspukhafte Fernwirkung
- Englishspooky action at a distance
Calque of German spukhafte Fernwirkung. Coined by Albert Einstein in a letter to Max Born on March 3, 1947 to express his skepticism about quantum mechanics, where two particles may interact instantaneously over a distance.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan acció fantasmal a distància
- acció fantasmal a distànciaquantum entanglement
French action fantôme à distance
- action fantôme à distancequantum entanglement
German spukhafte Fernwirkung
- spukhafte Fernwirkungquantum entanglement
Italian azione spettrale a distanza
- azione spettrale a distanzaquantum entanglement
Polish upiorne działanie na odległość
- upiorne działanie na odległośćquantum entanglement
Portuguese ação fantasmagórica à distância
- ação fantasmagórica à distânciaquantum entanglement
Spanish acción fantasmal a distancia
- acción fantasmal a distanciaquantum entanglement
Cite this entry
spooky action at a distance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spooky%20action%20at%20a%20distance
“spooky action at a distance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spooky%20action%20at%20a%20distance. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spooky action at a distance,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spooky%20action%20at%20a%20distance.
Source: spooky action at a distance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.