déjà vu

dé·jà vu | \ ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈvü

, -ˈvᵫ

Definition of déjà vu

1a : the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time

b : a feeling that one has seen or heard something before Despite a blond, swept-back mane all his own, Fonda looks startlingly like his father, Henry … . He even moves like his father, only dispelling the eerie feeling of déjà vu when he opens his mouth.— Peter Biskind

2 : something overly or unpleasantly familiar The team's poor start to the season was déjà vu for its long-suffering fans.

Examples of déjà vu in a Sentence

I entered the room and immediately felt a sense of déjà vu. When the car broke down again, it was déjà vu. The rise in housing costs is déjà vu all over again.

Recent Examples on the Web The result is a certain sense of deja vu for administration officials for whom any mention of infrastructure can cause palpitations. — Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, "Infrastructure falls apart: White House and Congress retreat from road building in next relief bill," 6 Apr. 2020 That invisibility triggered another disturbing case of deja vu for Nash. — John Blake, CNN, "There's a painful Black History Month lesson in Trump's impeachment trial," 5 Feb. 2020 What’s triggering the deja vu is austerity, which in the pandemic is hygienic and in popular culture is just cool. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "The Pandemic Has Made a Mockery of Minimalism," 23 Apr. 2020 In a deja vu episode of the long-running encryption wars, Attorney General William Barr blasted Apple on Monday for not helping crack the security on two iPhones that belonged to the shooter in last month’s Pensacola naval base attack. — Fortune, "Netflix Crashes Hollywood’s Oscar Party," 14 Jan. 2020 There definitely was a sense of deja vu for those who saw both concerts. — Ed Masley, azcentral, "Tool returned to Arizona for a 2nd sold-out concert in 3 months. And it was triumphant," 19 Jan. 2020 There was a sense of deja vu in Washington over the latest White House mystery, which erupted five months after former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III released his report on the Russia investigation. — Los Angeles Times, "Trump faces new turmoil over whistleblower complaint," 20 Sep. 2019 Facing deja vu Friday night, the Wildcats proved that things — and times — have changed. — Arizona Daily Star, azcentral, "Arizona women's basketball stuns No. 4 Stanford," 28 Feb. 2020 There was an air of deja vu as Riyad Mahrez slotted across the face of goal and Sterling tapped home. — SI.com, "Man City 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Raheem Sterling Helps Citizens to Win," 1 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'déjà vu.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.