eerie

or ee·ry

[ eer-ee ]

adjective

, ee·ri·er, ee·ri·est.

1. uncanny, so as to inspire superstitious fear; weird

   an eerie midnight howl.

2. Chiefly Scot. affected with superstitious fear.

eerie

/ ˈɪərɪ /

adjective

1. (esp of places, an atmosphere, etc) mysteriously or uncannily frightening or disturbing; weird; ghostly

Derived Forms

• ˈeeriness, noun
• ˈeerily, adverb

Other Words From

• ee·ri·ly adverb
• ee·ri·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of eerie¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English eri, dialectal variant of argh, Old English earg “cowardly”; cognate with Old Frisian erg, Old Norse argr “evil,” German arg “cowardly”

Word History and Origins

Origin of eerie¹

C13: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from Old English earg cowardly, miserable

Synonym Study

See weird.

Example Sentences

The night before the fire exploded, the eerie howl of the Santa Ana winds kept some awake.

From Los Angeles Times

"Trump's statement is an eerie replica of psychological manipulations made by abusers after episodes of abuse," she began, breaking it down in a series of 15 numbered tweets, starting thus:

From Salon

Each performance is downright eerie.

From Salon

His eerie response foreshadowed a tragic voyage.

From Salon

He also created an eerie orb sitting within the ancient Callanish stones on the Isle of Lewis, by swinging a light on the end of a string like a lasso during the long exposure time.

From BBC

Related Words

• bizarre
• creepy
• eldritch
• fantastic
• frightening
• ghostly
• mysterious
• scary
• strange
• supernatural
• uncanny
• weird