eerie

Or ee·ry

[eer-ee]

adjective

eerier, eeriest 

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

Other Word Forms

• eeriness noun
• eerily adverb

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

In an eerie echo of today, a post-pandemic president promised to restore “real” American values while the country came to blows over racial unrest, shameless disinformation activity, crumbling labor unions, income inequality and censorship.

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But there are some eerie findings associated with their eventual demise.

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Bobby Krlic’s mournful score is alternately dreamy and eerie, the instrumental music abruptly cutting out in the middle of a hypnotic passage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Despite the film’s eerie setting filled with slanting shadows, splattered blood and furtive movements darting just out of frame, Indy provides a visual oasis – thanks to a warm golden coat accented with white markings.

Read more on Salon

There is a silence to the witching hours, a calm that can be disarming, but it’s never been an eerie silence for me, even when I’ve been handling the dead.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bizarre 
• creepy 
• eldritch 
• fantastic 
• frightening www.thesaurus.com
• ghostly 
• mysterious 
• scary 
• strange 
• supernatural 
• uncanny 
• weird