eerie

adjective

ee·​rie ˈir-ē How to pronounce eerie (audio)
variants or less commonly eery
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
eeriness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for eerie

weird, eerie, uncanny mean mysteriously strange or fantastic.

weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

Examples of eerie in a Sentence

The flames cast an eerie glow. a land of eerie beauty
Recent Examples on the Web Her main source of comfort was the character of Harry, whose story does seem to have some eerie parallels to her own. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2023 Advertisement Metro’s own cinematic universe revolves around head-spinning sonics; the producer often favors eerie textures and melodies, drilled into memory with the help of thudding 808s that have landed him squarely on the Mt. Rushmore of trap producers. Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Key Facts Uncanny valley is the uneasy or eerie feeling humans experience when looking at images, AI or robots with features that are human-like, but slightly off. Arianna Johnson, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 And proof of the achievement, perhaps unnervingly, showed up in the infant primate’s eerie green glow. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023 From an eerie look at the Horsehead Nebula to a jaw-dropping portrait of thousands of galaxies in the famous Perseus Cluster, this first batch of images offers a tantalizing taste of what’s to come with this exciting mission. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2023 Cymbals like eerie warning bells, a kick that resonated like a slow-motion earthquake. Jonathan Rowe and Chris Schwartz, SPIN, 2 Nov. 2023 That has left mostly adult men, about 40% of the population, and an eerie silence along empty streets lined with shuttered shops and restaurants. NBC News, 3 Nov. 2023 This week’s images, which were recently published in the Astrophysical Journal, are one of several recent eerie celestial sightings that NASA has unveiled. Heidi Pérez-Moreno, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eerie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English (northern dialect) eri

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of eerie was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near eerie

Cite this Entry

“Eerie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eerie. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

eerie

adjective
ee·​rie
variants also eery
eerier; eeriest
: causing fear or uneasiness because of strangeness or gloominess
an eerie shadow
eerily adverb
eeriness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on eerie

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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