eerie

CEFRC1

/ˈɪəɹi/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Strange and frightening in a mysterious way.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    An eerie creature or thing.

Examples

  • The eerie silence struck terror into their hearts.

  • There was an eerie silence.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈiɹe/
  • /ˈiɹi/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Frightened, timid.

  2. Inspiring fear, especially in a mysterious or shadowy way; strange, weird.

More examples

In context

  • The eerie sounds seemed to come from the graveyard after midnight.

  • Dan was beginning to feel very depressed when suddenly the eerie howl of a dingo rang out[.]

  • An eerie feeling came over me.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The abandoned house had an blank silence that made visitors feel uneasy.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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.