eerie

or ee·ry

[ eer-ee ]
/ ˈɪər i /

adjective, ee·ri·er, ee·ri·est.

uncanny, so as to inspire superstitious fear; weird: an eerie midnight howl.
Chiefly Scot. affected with superstitious fear.

Origin of eerie

1250–1300; Middle English eri, dialectal variant of argh, Old English earg cowardly; cognate with Old Frisian erg, Old Norse argr evil, German arg cowardly

OTHER WORDS FROM eerie

ee·ri·ly, adverb ee·ri·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH eerie

aerie eerie Erie

Words nearby eerie

Example sentences from the Web for eerie

British Dictionary definitions for eerie

eerie
/ (ˈɪərɪ) /

adjective eerier or eeriest

(esp of places, an atmosphere, etc) mysteriously or uncannily frightening or disturbing; weird; ghostly

Derived forms of eerie

eerily, adverb eeriness, noun

Word Origin for eerie

C13: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from Old English earg cowardly, miserable