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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Although the weather remained eerie, Ingham County voters found a way to the polls to clost out the 2024 election year. Arpan Lobo, Nushrat Rahman, Natalie Davies, Lindsay Tague, Alexander Boesch, Sarah Moore, Sophia Jundy, Mikia Lawrence, Alec Mork, Siddhi Choubey and Sonja Krohn, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024 Then the divers began to find porcelain, more than three hundred and fifty thousand pieces in all, many of them stacked in eerie columns, their wooden crates having rotted away. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024 Using Christina Ricci's Cat Full of Spiders deck, here's what Halloween has in store for you, according to a tarot reader Comments With Halloween approaching, an eerie yet enchanting energy crackles through the air, instilling a sense of anticipation and mystery. Valerie Mesa, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024 On the flip side of things (quite literally), the Netherworld occupied by the recently, and not-so-recently, deceased needed to come off as eerie and a place where earthly rules of sound no longer apply. Josh Weiss, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for eerie 

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

-eer

eerie

eerily

Cite this Entry

“Eerie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eerie. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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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