eerie

adjective ee·rie \ ˈir-ē \

variants: or less commonly eery

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

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

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eerily

play \ˈir-ə-lē\ adverb

—

eeriness

play \ˈir-ē-nəs\ noun

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Examples of eerie in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of eerie from the Web

Perhaps rather symbolically, the bus taking them from the airport to the hotel broke down in a eerie case of foreshadowing.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 10 Weeks to Go - The Scotland Side That Promised World Domination...," 13 Apr. 2018
Monrreal says divers used a GoPro camera to film their recovery efforts, and the eerie video was later shown to the jury during the trial.

— christine pelisek, PEOPLE.com, "Boyfriend Drowned His Girlfriend Who Couldn't Walk by Driving SUV Into a Lake," 12 Apr. 2018
Great use of an eerie Southern California landscape and some fine, naturalistic acting emphasizes how the ordinary can sometimes seem threatening — and vice-versa.

— noel murray, latimes.com, "Indie horror film 'The Endless' brilliantly questions uncertainty of memory," 12 Apr. 2018
Called the magnetosphere, this sheath is normally invisible to human eyes—except near the planet’s poles, where shimmering, eerie lights in the nighttime skies betray its presence.

— robert ormerod, National Geographic, "Why Space Fans Flock to This Eerie Landscape," 9 Apr. 2018
The fingers of her bionic arm periodically twitch, making the already eerie installation downright creepy.

— anne tschida, miamiherald, "Her bionic fingers twitch. And that’s not the most disturbing part of this show | Miami Herald," 6 Apr. 2018
And his note serves as an eerie reminder that there’s still more to learn about the these swirling gales.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "How a Legendary Storm Chaser Changed the Face of Tornado Science," 5 Apr. 2018
The film hits all the necessary beats for a straightforward horror film in an eerie post-apocalyptic setting.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "A Quiet Place blends horror and drama in a silent world," 5 Apr. 2018
The deluge of tears abruptly stop and are replaced with an eerie smile of satisfaction and accomplishment.

— alise leslie, The Root, "Champion," 1 Apr. 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

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First Known Use: 14th century

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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.