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 of eerie

• haunting
• creepy

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

This isn't the first time Binotto has photographed the eerie phenomenon. —Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 25 Nov. 2025

The eeriest part about when a Brightline train collided with a car on Wednesday, seriously injuring someone, was not the crash itself, but the moments afterward, passengers told the Miami Herald. —Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 24 Nov. 2025

Burry took it as an eerie echo of the assurances offered by Greenspan two decades ago. —Yun Li, CNBC, 24 Nov. 2025

The Maysles brothers avoid narration or commentary, instead letting the band watch the footage with them, creating an eerie, meta layer of reflection and disbelief that was far ahead of its time. —Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 22 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English (northern dialect) eri

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for eerie

• beery
• bleary
• cheery
• cirri
• dearie
• deary
• dreary
• kiri
• leary
• leery
• peery
• query

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