I. ˈwi(ə)rd, -i(ə)d noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wierd, werd, wird, from Old English wyrd; akin to Old High German wurt fate, Old Norse urthr weird, fate, Old English weorthan to become — more at worth
1.
a. : fate , destiny , lot , fortune ; especially : ill fortune : a disastrous destiny
b. usually capitalized : fate I 3, norn
2.
a. : soothsayer
b. : spell , charm
c. : a supernatural tale
3. : prophecy , prediction
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English (Scots) weirden, werden, from wierd, werd fate
1. Scotland : to assign to a certain fate : destine
2. Scotland : to foretell or assign as a fate : predict
III. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English (Scots) werd, from werd, n., fate
1. archaic : of, relating to, or dealing with fate or the Fates
2.
a. : of or relating to witchcraft or to the supernatural : caused by or suggesting magical influence
Spanish horses, which appeared as weird centaurs to the amazed Indians — R.W.Murray
weird stories of the supernatural, rousing terror and pity — Frank Monaghan
b. : unearthly , mysterious
a weird desert of congealed lava — Tom Marvel
around the sun appears the weird , pearly corona seen on earth only during total eclipses — Waldemar Kaempffert
the weird , ringing voices of veeries — W.P.Smith
3. : curious in nature or appearance : of strange or extraordinary character : odd , unusual , fantastic
some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow — Bram Stoker
in this section grow many weird varieties of cactus — American Guide Series: Texas
weird prophets popped up everywhere — G.W.Johnson
some of his statements on local and state politics are a bit weird — G.E.Mowry
Synonyms:
weird , eerie , and uncanny agree in the sense of fearfully or mysteriously strange or fantastic. weird applies in one sense to something unearthly or preternaturally mysterious; in another sense, to something strangely or absurdly queer
something a trifle weird about leaving the little man alone among those dead servants — G.K.Chesterton
a touch of the weird or ghostly — P.E.More
a procession of weird characters: sorcerers, syndics, half-wits, adolescent girls in pregnancy, hermaphrodites — Richard Plant
preaching a weird interpretation of the Scriptures — American Guide Series: Ind.
eerie suggests an uneasy, often fearful premonition that malign powers or influences are at work
some eerie moments among the corpses — Times Literary Supplement
the flutes keep up an eerie wail — Horace Sutton
the poem has an eerie quality, like that of dream or of neurosis — Yvor Winters
the spruce trees and rocks loomed out of the fog in eerie, blurred shapes — Jean Potter
uncanny suggests in one sense uncomfortable strangeness or mysteriousness; in another more common sense, merely beyond ordinary powers to comprehend or as though supernatural
some uncanny apparition in a graveyard
the machines operate with uncanny precision at high speeds — Envelope
the natives display uncanny proficiency in detecting the whereabouts of fish — Bill Beatty