eerie

adjective ee·rie \ ˈir-ē \

variants: or less commonly eery

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: eerie in a Sentence

Definition of eerie

eerier; eeriest

1 : so mysterious, strange, or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine

a coyote's eerie howl

the similarities were eerie

; also : seemingly not of earthly origin

the flames cast an eerie glow

2 chiefly Scotland : affected with fright : scared

—

eerily

play \ˈir-ə-lē\ adverb

—

eeriness

play \ˈir-ē-nəs\ noun

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See eerie defined for kids

Examples of eerie in a Sentence

The flames cast an eerie glow.
a land of eerie beauty

Recent Examples of eerie from the Web

In these works, small details of sound and pattern evoke whiffs of warm-blooded presence that make the sense of loss more wrenching, and indeed eerie.

— cate mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "At the ICA, Kevin Beasley alchemizes dark histories," 23 May 2018
The case draws clear and eerie parallels to mysterious health problems that affected US diplomats in Cuba, who also experienced unexplained episodes of unusual sounds and pressure followed by diagnoses of traumatic brain injury.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "US gov’t employee in China left with brain injury after strange sounds, pressure," 23 May 2018
Paper Boi makes a run for it, entering a mysterious and eerie woods in the ATL.

— lauren alvarez, Billboard, "'Atlanta' Episode 8 Recap: Paper Boi's Life-Changing Trek Through the 'Woods'," 20 Apr. 2018
These days, the silence around him is deafening and eerie.

— nathaniel friedman, GQ, "The Silence Around Kawhi Leonard Used to Be Comforting," 18 Apr. 2018
Its metaphors have grown stale, its winks are now klaxons and its messages — once distorted and eerie — now land with a thud.

— bobby finger, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: ‘House Hunters’," 3 Apr. 2018
In each film, Greenwood has explored the darker side of obsessive men with often tense, eerie, emotionally muddled orchestral writing that complements and complicates Anderson's storytelling.

— tim greiving, latimes.com, "Jonny Greenwood shifts gears from contemporary to 'sincerely romantic' for 'Phantom Thread' score," 20 Feb. 2018
His account is charged and eerie, if at moments forgivably hammy (ghosts aren’t usually much for nuance).

— sam sacks, WSJ, "Fiction Chronicle: Under West Indian Eyes," 18 May 2018
Hulu put out another dark, eerie, and visually striking trailer for season two of The Handmaid’s Tale.

— jacob kastrenakes, The Verge, "New trailers: Westworld season 2, The Handmaid’s Tale, and more," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eerie.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of eerie

Middle English (northern dialect) eri

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

eerie Synonyms

Synonyms

creepy, haunting, spooky, uncanny, unearthly, weird;

Near Antonyms

common, commonplace, everyday, normal, ordinary, prosaic, routine, typical, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual;

natural;

expected, familiar, predictable;

bizarre, curious, odd, outlandish, outré, peculiar, quaint, quirky;

unaccustomed, uncommon, unusual;

metaphysical, preternatural, supernatural;

enigmatic (also enigmatical), inscrutable, mysterious, puzzling;

Synonym Discussion of eerie

weird, eerie, uncanny mean mysteriously strange or fantastic. weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress queerness or oddness.