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eerily

eerily

29 6.8
In a strange and frightening way
  • adverb
  • /ˈɪrɪli/
: inquietantemente
  • The forest was eerily silent at night, with only the sound of the wind rustling the leaves.
  • eerily similar
  • eerily familiar
  • eerily reminiscent

And then they groom them more through an experience that looks eerily like love bombing.

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Examples

  • But something about that fatigue began to feel eerily familiar.

  • The scenarios she outlined seem eerily prescient given the catastrophe that ensued.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And our path looks eerily similar to what happened back then.

  • But first, she'd take a picture of this scene that was so eerily beautiful.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Once busy streets are eerily silent as many have fled.

  • That might sound eerily familiar because I think this is the default mode for modern Americans, or let's say the modern world.

  • The crowds just stood there, eerily silent, watching the king like a pack of hungry wolves.

  • At night, TV sets glimmered eerily through open windows in small villages that whirred by.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Walker steps into the room, eerily illuminated by a glowing heater stuck to the floor.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • What SBF described in the interview was eerily similar to what many suspect FTX and Alameda were actually engaged in.

Synonyms

oddly
vseerily
148 3.4

In a strange or unexpected way

adds a frightening or unnatural element to that strangeness
strangely
vseerily
147 3.2

In an unusual or unexpected way

carries more menace and an unnatural feeling than that
curiously
vseerily
36 4.1

In a strange or unexpected way

shifts that peculiarity toward fear and the unnatural
weirdly
vseerily
33 3.5

In a strange or unexpected way

is darker and more likely to feel frightening or strange
disturbingly
vseerily
13 5.3

In a way that makes you feel worried or uneasy

includes a stronger suggestion of strange or frightening cause
alarmingly
vseerily
13 5.4

In a way that makes people feel worried or afraid

implies the cause is also odd or unnaturally frightening
bizarrely
vseerily
12 4.4

In a strange or unexpected way

adds an element that makes the strangeness frightening
frighteningly
vseerily
12 5.7

In a way that makes you feel scared

combines that fear with a strange or unnatural quality
ominously
vseerily
11 6.9

In a way that shows something bad will happen

is more about oddness combined with frightening feeling
funnily
vseerily
9 5.3

Shows that something is strange or surprising

turns that oddness into something more frightening or eerie
startlingly
vseerily
7 5.6

In a way that makes people feel very surprised

adds an eerie quality combining surprise with fear
uncannily
vseerily
5 6.9

In a way that is strange, surprising, and hard to explain

leans more toward being both strange and frightening
creepily
vseerily
4 4.9

In a way that makes someone feel afraid or uncomfortable

adds an explicit sense of oddness or unnaturalness to that fear
scarily
vseerily
4 4.9

In a way that makes you feel afraid or very worried

adds an odd or unnatural tone to the fear
jarringly
vseerily
1 8.2

In a way that shocks and feels out of place

is stranger and more likely to cause fear or dread
spookily
vseerily
1 7.0

In a strange, frightening way that feels like a ghost

is the same mix of strangeness and fear
unnervingly
vseerily
1 7.5

In a way that makes someone feel nervous or uneasy

carries a stronger sense of odd fear or unnaturalness
surreally
vseerily
1 7.0

In a strange way that feels like a dream

is more likely to provoke actual fear or alarm
unsettlingly
vseerily
1 7.0

In a way that makes you feel worried or nervous

adds a clearer element of fright or unnaturalness
spectrally
vseerily
  • Literature
1 9.6

In a way that looks or sounds like a ghost

is similar but not limited to ghostlike images

Antonyms

417 1.0

In a way that does not cause harm

48 1.3

With little worry and no stress

Compounds

Strangely quiet in a way that makes you feel scared

How Eerie

terrifyingly
6 6.5
chillingly
3 6.3
spookily
1 7.0
eerily
29 6.8
creepily
4 4.9
unsettlingly
1 7.0

Surface Forms

eerily positive
eerier comparative
eerliest superlative

Morphology

eerily = eerie (transparent) = eerie + ly

Standard adverbial formation from the adjective 'eerie' using the productive suffix '-ly', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word eerily comes from eerie, which comes from an old Scottish word that meant 'fear' or 'dread'. So, when something happens eerily, it feels strangely frightening or unnatural, just like that old word suggested.