unearthly C1 Topic:Mind & Cognition US /ʌnˈɝθ.li/ UK /ʌnˈɜːθ.li/ See IPA manual Freq #40221 Meanings 1 adj Not of the earth; nonterrestrial. They were, I now saw, the most unearthly creatures it is possible to conceive. 2 adj Preternatural or supernatural. I believe that we are the last human beings who will ever see that unearthly sight. 3 adj Strange, enigmatic, or mysterious. I then set out to survey the town in the self-same palankeen. The houses had all of them an unearthly appearance, by no means consonant to our ideas of Oriental splendor. 4 adj Ideal beyond the mundane. By the late sixteenth century Elizabeth had become the icon-like Virgin Queen of legend, an image created, to a large extent, by her extraordinary, unearthly costume and appearance. Common collocations unearthly scream Adjective + noun Etymology From un- + earthly. Topics Mind & Cognition External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # unearthly **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ʌnˈɝθ.li/ **IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈɜːθ.li/ **Frequency rank:** 40221 ## Meanings 1. Not of the earth; nonterrestrial. 2. Preternatural or supernatural. 3. Strange, enigmatic, or mysterious. 4. Ideal beyond the mundane. ## Examples - They were, I now saw, the most unearthly creatures it is possible to conceive. - I believe that we are the last human beings who will ever see that unearthly sight. - I then set out to survey the town in the self-same palankeen. The houses had all of them an unearthly appearance, by no means consonant to our ideas of Oriental splendor. - By the late sixteenth century Elizabeth had become the icon-like Virgin Queen of legend, an image created, to a large extent, by her extraordinary, unearthly costume and appearance. ## Etymology From un- + earthly. ## Topics - Mind & Cognition markdown