eerie

adjective

ee·​rie ˈir-ē 

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

ˈir-ē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• creepy
• haunting
• spookish
• spooky
• uncanny
• unearthly
• weird

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

As the music moves into the upper register, the thirds take on an eerie tinge, at least to ears accustomed to modern tuning. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024

There’s a digital painting of an eerie glasshouse overgrown with red roses by Zhang Xiaotong; Too Rich City, a digital video depicting a surreal Chinese cityscape; and a humorous digital comic by Tang Xinrui where a human are the ones ogled by fish at an aquarium. —Ann Binlot, ARTnews.com, 29 Nov. 2024

The Winged Monkeys are the Wicked Witch's loyal servants in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, and instantly became iconic with their eerie, otherworldly design; their origin is never explained in the film, but the creatures made a lasting impression in pop culture. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

The resulting black-and-white photograph shows some two dozen deer in a mesmerizing blur — indistinct, eerie white figures under a canopy of trees. —Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English (northern dialect) eri

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

eerie

adjective

ee·​rie

variants also eery

ˈi(ə)r-ē 

eerier; eeriest

: causing fear or uneasiness because of strangeness or gloominess

an eerie shadow

eerily

ˈir-ə-lē 

adverb

eeriness

ˈir-ē-nəs 

noun