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.

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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 )

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Related Words

See weird.

Other Word Forms

• unearthliness noun

Etymology

Origin of unearthly

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

Explanation

Unearthly describes something supernatural — a person or object that seems to come from another world. Unearthly beings are usually mysterious and can sometimes be scary, like the aliens you might see in a science fiction movie. When unearthly was first used in the early 1600s, it meant "heavenly, sublime," a combination of un, meaning "not," and earthly. Unearthly can still be used is to describe something spiritual or having to do with the soul. If you feel an unearthly presence while walking in a cemetery at night, it might be a visitor from "the other side."

Example Sentences

Ms. Pratt’s voice is unearthly and beautiful, and it’s striking to hear her showing up in such a setting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

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 • Apr. 8, 2024

That led to a weekslong hunt and an even longer court battle over an unusual question: Who owns an unearthly object that falls to Earth?

From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2024

In the adept lithograph “Angels and Airplanes,” Russia’s Natalia Goncharova gives her blessing to the erupting conflagration by entwining unearthly militarism and Orthodox religiosity.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2023

It might have come from the cold spaces of the dark sky outside, so unearthly and desolate was the sound.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams