eerie

or ee·ry

[ eer-ee ]
See synonyms for: eerieeerily on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of eerie

1
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”

synonym study For eerie

1. See weird.

Other words from eerie

  • ee·ri·ly, adverb
  • ee·ri·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with eerie

Words Nearby eerie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use eerie in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for eerie

eerie

/ (ˈɪərɪ) /


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

Origin of eerie

1
C13: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from Old English earg cowardly, miserable

Derived forms of eerie

  • eerily, adverb
  • eeriness, noun

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