ieriest

ieriest is a term that appears sporadically in English-language text and has no widely recognized definition in standard dictionaries. In most usages, it is treated as a misspelling or typographical variant of the adjective eerie, particularly when forming its superlative.

The standard English form for the superlative of eerie is eeriest, derived by adding the suffix -est to the base adjective and preserving the long 'ee' vowel sound. The spelling ieriest would thus be considered nonstandard and inconsistent with common orthography. In rare cases, ier iest might be created intentionally in creative writing to convey idiolect, dialect, or character error, but it is not established as a separate lexical item.

Usage and examples: In formal writing, correct usage is eeriest: The ruins grew eerier and eeriest as dusk fell. If you encounter ieriest, treat it as a likely misspelling or stylistic device. When quoting someone who uses nonstandard spelling, preserve the original, but in your own writing prefer eeriest.

See also: eerie, eeriness, eerier, eerily.