creepy

[ kree-pee ]

adjective

, creep·i·er, creep·i·est.

1. having or causing a creeping sensation of the skin, as from horror or fear:

   a creepy ghost story.

2. that creeps: creep:

   a creepy insect.

3. Slang. of, relating to, or characteristic of a person who is a creep; creep; obnoxious; weird.

creepy

/ ˈkriːpɪ /

adjective

1. informal.
   having or causing a sensation of repulsion, horror, or fear, as of creatures crawling on the skin
2. creeping; slow-moving

Derived Forms

• ˈcreepily, adverb
• ˈcreepiness, noun

Other Words From

• creepi·ly adverb
• creepi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of creepy¹

First recorded in 1825–35; creep + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Those algorithms are very powerful, and yet somehow not powerful enough to avoid making recommendations that are creepy.

From Vox

While the previous game excelled at creepy atmosphere, “Little Nightmares 2” is more consistently terrifying, so much that it can be emotionally exhausting.

From Washington Post

He discovers her laid out on the altar of a creepy church, wearing nightclothes and muttering incomprehensibly about “keeping the brightness hidden.”

From Washington Post

Now he’s got an ’80s-style ’fro with the creepy mustache and Ray-Bans and the red suit.

From Vox

Just look at this side-by-side photo of me—it’s the same one, but it only took me 30 seconds to put that creepy smile on my face using Photoshop’s Smart Portrait neural filters.

From Popular-Science

And we can listen to the pathetic, creepy bravado of a former vice president, wrong on nearly every decision he made.

From The Daily Beast

Creepy thing to wrap up in festive paper and a bow and give to a newborn baby, yeah?

From The Daily Beast

Private schools have a way of being a magnet for scandals for the creepy, inappropriate adults who run them.

From The Daily Beast

The 1989 picture is remembered for the acclaimed (and sort-of-creepy, to be real for a moment) Disney family film that it is.

From The Daily Beast

They seemed a little creepy to me, particular the song “Transmission.”

From The Daily Beast

The atmosphere is perfect for our hoax and several of us who are "in the know" feel sort of creepy as we wait for the next flash.

From Project Gutenberg

And Mistress Cory Ann for once forgot to scold, because of a creepy feeling that seemed travelling up her spine.

From Project Gutenberg

Do you know, I felt a kind o' creepy feelin' down my back all the time.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet, here in the still ghostly midnight hour alone, the affair began to grow dashed creepy.

From Project Gutenberg

Now, thus brought by chance to its very base, he looked up at it with a cold, creepy sensation of shuddering awe.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• awful
• disgusting
• disturbing
• eerie
• frightening
• ghoulish
• macabre
• menacing
• ominous
• sinister
• terrifying
• weird