Adjective

(en adjective)

Not of the earth; non-terrestrial.

* 2012 , Charles Lockwood, Tragedy at Honda , page 65

In the hard glare of the Searchlight, which had been manned by Seaman 2nd class Evans W. Watkins, the rock had the unearthly look of a miniature satellite in space.

Preternatural or supernatural.

* 2011 , Steven Saylor, Roma: The Epic Novel of Ancient Rome

As a fourth finger snapped, Cacus gave an unearthly scream and relented.

Strange, enigmatic, or mysterious.

* 1819 [publ. Sep 1858], James Morton, "The Poetical Remains of the late Dr. John Leyden, with Memoirs of his Life", The Calcutta Review , volume 31, page 25

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.

Ideal beyond the mundane.

* 2000 , Aileen Ribeiro, The Gallery of Fashion , page 42

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.

Ridiculous, ludicrous, or outrageous.

* 1927 , The Walther League Messenger , volume 36, page 225

I see my boys all wearing the same unearthly trousers, the same hair cuts, garish ties and sweaters, all rolling their socks and entertaining the same crazy notions about everything.

Adjective

(er)

In shadow; darkened by shadows.

He sat in a shadowy corner.

(of character) Dark, obscure.

He was a shadowy man who rarely spoke.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=December 19 , author=Kerry Brown , title=Kim Jong-il obituary , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=By 1980, South Korea had overtaken its northern neighbour, and was well on its way to being one of the Asian tigers – high-performing economies, with democratic movements ultimately winning power in the 1990s. The withdrawal of most Soviet aid in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet empire, pushed North Korea further down. Kim Il-sung had held a genuine place on North Korean people's affections. His son was regarded as a shadowy playboy, with rumours circulating over the years that he imported Russian and Chinese prostitutes, and lived a life of profligacy and excess.}}