Words / B2

EERR-ee/ˈɪəri/

Eerie means strange and slightly frightening in a quiet or mysterious way: an eerie silence; an eerie light. Weird (this batch) is broader and more informal; spooky is closer. Calling a setting eerie is not analysis; quote the line. Mix-up: eerie vs eyrie (an eagle nest); eerie vs cheery; do not write eerie for a loud jump-scare with no quiet strangeness.

Meaning

Strange and slightly frightening in a quiet or mysterious way.

Examples

• “Calling a setting eerie is not analysis; quote the line, the literature paper said.”
• “An eerie calm featured in the weather diary before the storm, which is still a named reading — quote the pressure if given.”

Good to know

an eerie silence / glow / calm. Close: spooky / uncanny. Broader informal: weird (this batch). Trap: eyrie / a loud scare. Literature, media, and geography. Quietly strange — quote the detail.

Near in meaning

spooky, uncanny, creepy

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