Eldritch

//ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.

    "So Maggie runs, the witches follow, / Wi' mony an eldritch ſkreech and hollow."

Adjective
  1. 1
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
eeriefreakyaberrantalienbookybuggish

Example

More examples

"The planet is hollow and filled with Eldritch horrors."

Etymology

From the earlier form elritch, of uncertain origin. The second element, -ritch, is generally taken to be Old English rīċe (“realm, kingdom”). Some think that the first element, el-, derives from an Old English root meaning “foreign, strange, other” (related to Old English ellende and modern English else); others think that it derives from elf. It was reintroduced into popular literature by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.