Meaning & use
eerie
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Strange and slightly frightening in a way that suggests mystery or the supernatural.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or after linking verbs; stronger than odd but less intense than terrifying.
Patterns
- an eerie silence
- an eerie light
- feel eerie
- eerily quiet
An eerie silence filled the empty station.
The candle gave the room an eerie glow.
It felt eerie to walk through the closed mall at midnight.
Word forms
| comparative | eerier |
|---|---|
| superlative | eeriest |
Common combinations
- eerie silence
- An eerie silence followed the sudden power cut.
- eerie glow
- The lanterns produced an eerie glow over the water.
- eerie calm
- An eerie calm settled before the storm arrived.
- eerie resemblance
- The old portrait had an eerie resemblance to my grandfather.
- eerily quiet
- The street was eerily quiet after the festival ended.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spooky
- Spooky is informal and playful or childish; eerie can sound more serious and literary.
- creepy
- Creepy often includes disgust or threat from a person, while eerie describes an unsettling atmosphere.
- uncanny
- Uncanny stresses something too strange to explain easily; eerie adds a quiet fear.
- weird
- Weird is broader and need not be frightening; eerie usually carries unease.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: eerie or Erie? eerie or eyrie?
eerie vs Erie
Erie is a proper name, especially a North American lake; eerie is the common adjective for unsettling strangeness.
eerie vs eyrie
Eyrie, a high nest, can sound similar in some accents; the spelling and meaning are unrelated.
Practice
Choose the best word: After midnight, the house was completely still, and a ___ hush made everyone whisper.
Choose one answer.
Eerie describes a strange, frightening hush; adept means skilled, bulk means mass or quantity, and folly means foolishness, so none fit atmosphere.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eerie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.