Eerie Meaning
/ˈɪəɹi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjInspiring fear, especially in a mysterious or shadowy way; strange, weird.
adjFrightened, timid.
Sentence Examples
The eerie silence struck terror into their hearts.
There was an eerie silence.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The abandoned house had an ____ silence that made visitors feel uneasy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ silence struck terror into their hearts.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English eri (“fearful”), from Old English earg (“cowardly, fearful”), from Proto-West Germanic *arg, from Proto-Germanic *argaz. Akin to Scots ergh, argh from the same Old English source. Doublet of argh.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"An eerie feeling came over me."
— 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 200:
"Dan was beginning to feel very depressed when suddenly the eerie howl of a dingo rang out[.]"
— 1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 13, column 2:
"I was working in the lab late one night / When my eyes beheld an eerie sight / For my monster, from his slab, began to rise / And suddenly, to my surprise / He did the Mash / He did the Monster Mash."
— 1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:
"The whole city is immersed in a dystopian-looking smog: urban streets in sepia, emptier than usual, bathed in an eerie quiet."
— 2023 June 7, Samira Asma-Sadeque, “‘It’s too much’: New Yorkers don masks or stay inside amid smog crisis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"She began to feel eerie."
— 1883, George MacDonald, Donal Grant:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The abandoned house had an ____ silence that made visitors feel uneasy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ silence struck terror into their hearts.