Dictionary

eerily en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪəɹɪli/
• /ˈɪɹ.ɪ.li/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

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:
   • 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:
   • 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:

Forms

Synonyms

strangely · ominously · uncannily

Translations (8)

es sobrecogedoramente (In an eerie manner) · es espeluznantemente (In an eerie manner) · fr sinistrement (In an eerie manner) · es inquietantemente (In an eerie manner) · sv kusligt (In an eerie manner) · fi aavemaisesti (In an eerie manner) · fr étrangement (In an eerie manner) · cs tajuplně (In an eerie manner)