Definition of UNCANNY

Other Words from uncanny

uncannily \ ˌən-ˈka-nə-lē

\ adverb

uncanniness \ ˌən-ˈka-nē-nəs

\ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for uncanny

weird, eerie, uncanny mean mysteriously strange or fantastic. weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress queerness or oddness. weird creatures from another world eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work. an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

Did You Know?

Weird and eerie are synonyms of uncanny, but there are subtle differences in the meanings of the three words. Weird may be used to describe something that is generally strange or out of the ordinary. Eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that some kind of mysterious and malign powers are at work, while uncanny, which debuted in the 18th century, implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. English also has a word canny, but canny and uncanny should not be interpreted as opposites. Canny, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, means "clever," "shrewd" or "prudent," as in "a canny lawyer" or "a canny investment."

Examples of uncanny in a Sentence

I was struck by his uncanny ability to communicate arcane, complex economic policy and by his punk-rock instinct to question the status quo. — Bono, Time, 18 Apr. 2005 To an economist, the 1990s bear an uncanny resemblance to two earlier decades: the 1920s in the United States and the 1980s in Japan. In all three decades, technological change produced extraordinary economic growth, leading to talk of a "new era" and triggering a bull market in stocks that terminated in a market collapse—widely regarded as the bursting of a speculative bubble. — Milton Friedman, Wall Street Journal, 22 Jan. 2002 As he approached quite close to the enclosure he saw an excited group surrounding the two fugitives, who, trembling with fright and exhaustion, were scarce able to recount the uncanny details of their adventure. — Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, 1914 She could not teach herself to think favourably of Pansy, whose absence of initiative, of conversation, of personal claims, seemed to her, in a girl of twenty, unnatural and even uncanny. — Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, 1881 She had an uncanny resemblance to someone I had seen before. She has an uncanny sense of direction. an uncanny ability to predict the weather

Recent Examples on the Web

At his best, Neruda can express in uncanny images and ordinary words something that feels like the essence of experience. — Benjamin Kunkel, The New Republic, "The partisan world of Pablo Neruda," 2 July 2018 Among other offerings with an uncanny resemblance to midcentury design icons (like Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chair, or the Eames Office molded plastic chair), the Poly and Bark Sculpture Coffee Table for $309.99 has raised a few discerning eyebrows. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Is Walmart selling knockoffs of classic midcentury modern furniture?," 11 June 2018 Hadley, across this collection, shows off a brilliance for hiding the uncanny in the commonplace; in the title story, a child in the middle of the night upends all the furniture in the living room, with profound consequences for her mother. — Joumana Khatib, New York Times, "New in Paperback: ‘Rising Star,’ ‘Mrs. Fletcher’," 8 June 2018 And the relationship with him and Tum was uncanny, unbelievable. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "Cassius Winston may be Michigan State basketball's leader next season," 20 Mar. 2018 So when the North Texas man was met with opposition by security guards inside the park for his uncanny resemblance to St. Nick — which is kind of his shtick — Henderson was surprised. — Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, "A Man Was Kicked Out of Six Flags for Looking Too Much Like Santa Claus," 15 Dec. 2016 The idea that such uncanny poetry was coming out of an ordinary woman seemed so unlikely to her contemporaries that many believed something supernatural must be involved. — Joy Lanzendorfer, Longreads, "Ghost Writer: The Story of Patience Worth, the Posthumous Author," 14 June 2018 Still, the overall effect can be uncanny and disturbing. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Twisted, Enthralling Rot of Sharp Objects," 7 July 2018 Still, some critics have wondered whether the series goes too far—whether its uncanny, occasionally prophetic mirror image of our own world provides enough meaning to justify sitting through all that misery and violence. — Laura Bradley, HWD, "The Handmaid’s Tale Writer Breaks Down the Series’s Most Brutal Episode Yet," 20 June 2018

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