Synonyms of eerie

eerie

adjective

ˈir-ē 

variants also eery

as in haunting

fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic

eerie noises would occasionally come from locked rooms in the castle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• haunting
• creepy
• weird
• spooky
• uncanny
• bizarre
• unearthly
• mysterious
• unusual
• terrifying
• spectral
• ghostly
• ghoulish
• odd
• spookish
• curious
• ghastly
• quirky
• uncommon
• peculiar
• ghostlike
• quaint
• enigmatic
• outlandish
• supernatural
• horrible
• outré
• metaphysical
• puzzling
• horrifying
• terrible
• inscrutable
• preternatural
• unaccustomed
• dreadful
• queerish
• fearsome

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• normal
• common
• usual
• ordinary
• typical
• commonplace
• routine
• everyday
• natural
• prosaic
• unremarkable
• familiar
• unexceptional
• predictable
• expected

Synonym Chooser

How is the word eerie distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words uncanny and weird are common synonyms of eerie. While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

When is it sensible to use uncanny instead of eerie?

While in some cases nearly identical to eerie, uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

When can weird be used instead of eerie?

The words weird and eerie are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of eerie

Yet to policing experts and civil rights attorneys across the Bay Area and California, the scene bears eerie similarities to a series of local police shootings involving moving vehicles — including one that sent a Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputy to prison. —Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026

There’s an equally eerie and intriguing magic that comes with venturing into the wilderness beneath the light of a full moon. —The Denver Post, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026

Officials have released eerie surveillance footage capturing a ‘person of interest’ in the unsolved murders of an Ohio dentist and his wife, who were gunned down inside their home. —Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026

Following the murder of their father, siblings Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) are relocated to his eerie Victorian estate in Massachusetts. —James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026