creepy
Americanadjective
-
informal having or causing a sensation of repulsion, horror, or fear, as of creatures crawling on the skin
-
creeping; slow-moving
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of creepy
Explanation
Something is creepy if it feels like tiny things are crawling on you. The sensation of a spider on your arm is creepy. Ladybugs are pretty, but it still feels creepy when they crawl across your hand. Another kind of creepy feeling is something that gives you an unpleasant chill, like a creepy ghost story or the creepy sound of footsteps in your attic at night. The earliest meaning of creepy was simply "characterized by creeping," so in the 18th century you'd be creepy if you were simply tip-toeing quietly through your house.
Vocabulary lists containing creepy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some tips for scaredy cats: If you don’t like spooky scary skeletons, creepy crawlies, or horror flicks, Halloween season can be a fright to endure.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Some backdrops were creepy set dressing, while others had tactile brutality — Sphere often had the rumble-seat effect blaring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
What to know: Come for the creepy, misty “Widow’s Bay” vibes in this supernatural spookfest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
It's spider season - have you seen more creepy crawlies around?
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Is there anywhere creepy in the village?” she asks in a low voice.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Every year, Halloween gets bigger, earlier and creepier.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
“M3GAN” director Gerard Johnstone wanted to make the doll creepier than what’s seen in other horror films, like “Child’s Play.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
Deep into “R.M.N.,” an anatomy of the human condition, this powerhouse of a movie gets deeper, creepier and unnervingly familiar.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Here, she’s called the Wood Sprite and is played by an icy-voiced Tilda Swinton, who also voices the Wood Sprite’s even creepier sister, Death.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2022
As usual, she spoke without moving her mouth, which could only have been creepier if she’d had a ventriloquism puppet.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Life imitating art in the creepiest way possible.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2025
But as Vijay Mehar has learned in his years as owner of the creepiest motel in Tonopah, Nev., happy clowns are not what most of his customers want.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024
Finally available in the 4K disc format, it’s easily one of the creepiest films of all time.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
The creepiest by far is “dead men’s fingers,” Decaisnea fargesii, whose pewter-blue, fingerlike fruits stand out against butter-yellow foliage and reach out to unwary visitors.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
The blurry-faced girl tilts her head and lets out the creepiest laugh—it sounds like multiple people are laughing at once.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
