adjective
eerie, uncanny, incredibly
B1
Unheimlich is an adjective meaning 'eerie' or 'uncanny' and colloquially used as an adverb meaning 'incredibly' to intensify. It’s gradable (unheimlicher, am unheimlichsten). Not reflexive and takes no specific preposition. Antonym: heimelig. Common for atmospheres, people or strange feelings. Especially in spoken German.
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Seine Erklärung war unheimlich — ich wusste nicht, was ich davon halten sollte.
His explanation was uncanny — I didn't know what to make of it.
In der Nacht war es unheimlich still, nachdem die Nachbarn die Lichter ausschalteten, und viele Leute fühlten sich unwohl.
At night it was eerily quiet after the neighbors switched off the lights, and many people felt uneasy.
Es ist unheimlich kalt heute.
It's incredibly cold today.
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imagine a quiet house at night that feels wrong — that creepy 'not homey' feeling
sounds like 'un-heim-lich' -> 'not-home-ly' (a place that doesn't feel like home = eerie)
Adjectives don't have gender, but remember '-lich' adjectives often describe qualities or feelings
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Can mean 'eerie/uncanny' or colloquially 'very/incredibly' depending on context. Be careful: in formal writing avoid using it as an intensifier.