eerie

or ee·ry

[ eer-ee ]
/ ˈɪər i /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR eerie ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, ee·ri·er, ee·ri·est.

uncanny, so as to inspire superstitious fear; weird: an eerie midnight howl.
Chiefly Scot. affected with superstitious fear.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of eerie

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

OTHER WORDS FROM eerie

ee·ri·ly, adverbee·ri·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH eerie

aerie eerie Erie

Words nearby eerie

eent, eeo, eeoc, eephus pitch, eer, eerie, eery, ef-, efa, efate, efavirenz
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to eerie

scary, fantastic, awesome, creepy, strange, supernatural, uncanny, ghostly, mysterious, bizarre, frightening, weird, fearful, spectral, superstitious, unearthly, crawly

Example sentences from the Web for eerie

British Dictionary definitions for eerie

eerie
/ (ˈɪərɪ) /

adjective eerier or eeriest

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

Derived forms of eerie

eerily, adverbeeriness, noun

Word Origin for eerie

C13: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from Old English earg cowardly, miserable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012