unearthly

American  

[uhn-urth-lee] / ʌnˈɜrθ li /

adjective

1. seeming not to belong to this earth or world.

   unearthly beauty.

2. supernatural; ghostly; unnaturally strange; weird.

   an unearthly scream.

   Synonyms:

   spectral, preternatural

3. out of the ordinary; unreasonable or absurd.

   to get up at an unearthly hour.

---

unearthly British  

/ ʌnˈɜːθlɪ /

adjective

1. ghostly; eerie; weird

   unearthly screams

2. heavenly; sublime

   unearthly music

3. ridiculous or unreasonable (esp in the phrase unearthly hour )

---

Related Words

See weird.

Other Word Forms

• unearthliness noun

Etymology

Origin of unearthly

First recorded in 1605–15; un- ¹ + earthly

Example Sentences

Nansi swings his eyes upward, studying the sparkling stars like there are messages written in the unearthly skies.

From Literature

That makes the Palisades fire all the more unearthly.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was going to be almost a vocal earthwork,” said Aitken, who tends to think and speak in floating, unearthly concepts.

From Los Angeles Times

I may have dozed just lightly when an unearthly moan jarred me awake.

From Literature

They did not leave disappointed as the sun shrank to a crescent-like sliver of light that cast an unearthly pale gloom over the city.

From BBC