English

Adjective

unheimlich ‎(comparative more unheimlich, superlative most unheimlich)

1. Weird, uncanny. [from 19th c.]
   • 1936, Isiah Berlin, letter, 3 Jun 1936:

     My point is that there is no grand single line, everything is in bits, & often absolutely dead, & always very unheimlich, almost macabre.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 272:

     Werfner, damn him, keen-witted but unheimlich, is obsessed with railway lines

   • 2009, MG Piety, translating Søren Kirkegaard, Repetition, Oxford 2009, p. 33:

     The music rings throughout the hall, somewhat unheimlich, given that the place is so empty.

German

Etymology

un- +‎ Heim +‎ -lich

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʊnˈhaɪmlɪç/
• Hyphenation: un‧heim‧lich

Adjective

unheimlich ‎(comparative unheimlicher, superlative am unheimlichsten)

1. uncanny
2. creepy, eerie
3. incredible

Related terms

• heimlich

Declension