creepy

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Creepy (disambiguation)

Wikipedia

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ-der.

Proto-Germanic *kreupaną

Proto-West Germanic *kreupan

Old English crēopan

Middle English crepen

English creep

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Germanic *-gaz

Proto-West Germanic *-g

Old English -iġ

Middle English -y

English -y

English creepy

From creep +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹiːpi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: krīʹpī, IPA^(key): /ˈkɹipi/
• Rhymes: -iːpi
• Hyphenation: creep‧y

Adjective

creepy (comparative creepier, superlative creepiest)

1. Moving by creeping along.

   creepy-crawlies

   • 1874–1876 (date written), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Fit the Fit the Fifth.⁠ The Beaver’s Lesson.”, in The Hunting of the Snark […], London: Macmillan and Co., published March 1876, →OCLC:

     The Beaver brought paper, portfolio, pens, / And ink in unfailing supplies: / While strange creepy creatures came out of their dens, / And watched them with wondering eyes.

2. (informal) Producing an uneasy fearful sensation, as of things crawling over one's skin.

   creepy ghosts

3. (informal) Causing discomfort or repulsion due to strange or eccentric behavior.
4. (informal, especially) Causing discomfort through exhibiting sexually inappropriate behavior.

   That creepy old man keeps leering at me!

   • 2022, Scott Bell, Pest Cemetery, page 235:

     "He doesn't look creepy," I said. "Kind of nerdy, in a harmless way.
     "Looks can be deceiving. See that camera? He was always going around with that camera, snapping pictures. Some girls caught him trying to get 'up skirt' shots while they sat at their desks. […]"

5. (informal, uncommon) Feeling an uneasy fearful sensation; creeped out.
   • 1920, Algernon Blackwood, First Hate:

     “I felt creepy and afraid,” continued the other, with conviction. “I had the sensation of being seen by someone—as if someone, I mean, was watching me. […]

Derived terms

• creepify
• creepily
• creepiness
• creepy-ass
• creepy crawler
• creepy-crawly
• creepypasta
• creepy-peepy
• creepy weepy
• uncreepy

Related terms

• creeper
• creep out

Translations

moving by creeping along

Bulgarian: пълзящ (bg) (pǎlzjašt) German: kriechend (de) Russian: ползучий (ru) (polzučij)

producing a fearful sensation

Arabic: مفزع m Armenian: please add this translation if you can Basque: beldurgarria Bulgarian: предизвикващ тръпки (predizvikvašt trǎpki) Catalan: esborronador (ca), aborronador Chinese: Mandarin: 詭異 / 诡异 (zh) (guǐyì), 嚇人 / 吓人 (zh) (xiàrén), 恐怖 (zh) (kǒngbù) Danish: uhyggelig, skræmmende Dutch: griezelig (nl) Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Finnish: karmiva (fi) French: angoissant (fr) m, flippant (fr) German: gruselig (de), schaurig (de), schauerlich, unheimlich (de) Hungarian: hátborzongató (hu), rémisztő (hu), kísérteties (hu), félelmetes (hu) Icelandic: hrollvekjandi Irish: fuarú, aisteach Italian: angosciante (it), inquietante (it) Japanese: 気持ち悪い (ja) (kimochiwarui), 気味悪い (kimiwarui) Khmer: គួរឱ្យខ្លាច (kuor aoy khlach), គួរឱ្យភ័យខ្លាច (kuor aoy phyokhlach) Macedonian: мо́рничав (mórničav), ко́шмарен (kóšmaren), стра́шен (strášen) Mongolian: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: horripilante (pt) Russian: жу́ткий (ru) (žútkij), броса́ющий в дрожь (brosájuščij v drožʹ), вызыва́ющий мура́шки (vyzyvájuščij muráški), противный (ru) (protivnyj), гадкий (ru) (gadkij), гадливый (ru) (gadlivyj), отталкивающий (ru) (ottalkivajuščij), страхолюдный (ru) (straxoljudnyj), отпугивающий (ru) (otpugivajuščij), кошмарный (ru) (košmarnyj), кошмарный (ru) (košmarnyj), страшенный (ru) (strašennyj) (colloquial) Scottish Gaelic: uaigealta, èiginneach Spanish: espeluznante (es), escalofriante (es) Swedish: kuslig (sv), obehaglig (sv) Thai: น่ากลัว (nâa-gluua), น่าขนลุก (Ǹā k̄hnluk) Turkish: ürpertici (tr) Vietnamese: đáng sợ (vi), kinh khủng (vi), khủng khiếp (vi), ghê gớm (vi)

feeling an uneasy fearful sensation

Bulgarian: зловещ (bg) (zlovešt) Russian: крипо́вый (ru) (kripóvyj)

causing discomfort or repulsion

Arabic: مخيف m Armenian: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: 嚇人 / 吓人 (zh) (xiàrén), 恐怖 (zh) (kǒngbù) Dutch: please add this translation if you can Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Finnish: kammottava (fi) French: flippant (fr) German: abstoßend (de), widerlich (de), gruselig (de) Hebrew: please add this translation if you can Hungarian: please add this translation if you can Russian: крипо́вый (ru) (kripóvyj) Spanish: temible (es), perturbador, inquietante, desconcertante (es), incomodador (es), desconfortante Swedish: kuslig (sv), obehaglig (sv) Thai: please add this translation if you can Turkish: please add this translation if you can Vietnamese: kinh tởm (vi)

Anagrams

• crepey, crêpey

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English creepy.

Adjective

creepy (comparative creepyer, superlative creepy'st)

1. (informal) creepy (scary or sexually disconcerting)

   Het was daar 's nachts best creepy. ― It was pretty creepy there at night.

   Hij zat de hele tijd creepy naar haar te staren. ― He was staring at her creepily the whole time.

Related terms

• creep