eerily

E1E1R1I1L1Y4
/ˈɪəɹɪli/US/ˈɪɹ.ɪ.li/

adverb

In an eerie manner.

UncommonScrabble 9

Meanings

adverbeerily (comparative more eerily, superlative most eerily)

comparative more eerily · superlative most eerily

  1. In an eerie manner.

    And it was the voice of a human being—a known, loved, well-remembered voice—that of Edward Fairfax Rochester; and it spoke in pain and woe—wildly, eerily, urgently.

    1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IX, in Jane Eyre. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 244
    2 more examples

    Within a short time, the area became overcrowded with visiting kinksters and the original dungeons were torn down, replaced by resplendent palaces of kinkiness that soared into the sky. I can’t help but notice at this point that the story begins to sound eerily like the development of Las Vegas. My brother Merle used to love going out there years ago, to frequent the smaller and older casinos. He became furious when developers tore them down to build newer and bigger ones.

    2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 37

    A woman whose fiancé died on Sept. 11, Maria Barreto-Mojica, said she noticed that something about yesterday had seemed eerily familiar. “I looked at the sky this morning. It was so blue, just the same as it was that morning,” said Ms. Barreto-Mojica, 48, who was to marry fire lieutenant Dennis Mojica.

    2006 September 11, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Bush Mourns 9/11 at Ground Zero as N.Y. Remembers”, in New York Times

    Synonyms: strangely, ominously, uncannily

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn an eerie manner.

More synonyms by meaning

adverbin an unnatural eery manner

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From eerie + -ly. Compare Old English earglīċe, earhlīċe (“in a cowardly manner, timidly, fearfully”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech tajuplně
  • tajuplněIn an eerie manner
Finnish aavemaisesti
  • aavemaisestiIn an eerie manner
French étrangement, sinistrement
  • étrangementIn an eerie manner
  • sinistrementIn an eerie manner
Spanish espeluznantemente, inquietantemente
  • espeluznantementeIn an eerie manner
  • inquietantementeIn an eerie manner
  • sobrecogedoramenteIn an eerie manner
Swedish kusligt
  • kusligtIn an eerie manner

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with eerily

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

eerily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eerily

MLA

“eerily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eerily. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eerily,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eerily.

Source: eerily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.