1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
a number of uncanny parallels in the lives of the twins who had been separated at birth
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2
as in superhuman
being so extraordinary or abnormal as to suggest powers which violate the laws of nature
an uncanny gift for knowing when someone, no matter how distant, needed help
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3
as in eerie
fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic
uncanny and unexpected shadows along the mountainsides
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of uncanny
The 1960 movie — powered by Bernard Herrmann's chilling score, Anthony Perkins' unnerving portrayal of hotel manager Norman Bates (for the movie, much younger than the character in Bloch's novel) and Hitchcock's uncanny showmanship — revolutionized the horror genre.
—
Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
The parallels to what is taking place right now, especially the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, is uncanny.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Its textures feel tactile and studied, the action of the film is animated crisply and deliberately, and the overall effect of watching the film is uncanny verisimilitude.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Murphy fans have been campaigning for a series about Mangione since the arrest, making note of the uncanny resemblance between him and actor Dave Franco.
—Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
The parallels to what is taking place right now, especially the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, is uncanny.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Its textures feel tactile and studied, the action of the film is animated crisply and deliberately, and the overall effect of watching the film is uncanny verisimilitude.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
Murphy fans have been campaigning for a series about Mangione since the arrest, making note of the uncanny resemblance between him and actor Dave Franco.
—Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny
Adjective
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Gehman, then a graduate student earning a doctorate in disease ecology, had heard about a mysterious illness sweeping through the Pacific coast’s iconic invertebrates.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Oct. 2025
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Since its discovery in 2009, scientists have made little headway in understanding the mysterious origins of these excess gamma rays.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Moments that remind you that not every hero needs a cape or superhuman strength to uplift the world.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
14 Oct. 2025
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That creates a gap between what the market thinks AI can do and actual performance, squeezing both businesses and—in the case of translators—workers caught between the promise of superhuman efficiency and the reality of often flawed machine output.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Hidden passageways, dungeons frozen in time, and eerie corridors are like catnip for those with a proclivity toward the paranormal.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
12 Oct. 2025
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Divers have told tales of muffled voices, phantom lights and shadows, and other eerie encounters during their time beneath the sea.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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What role did the infamous and cryptic Bob Gray play in the story?—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Oct. 2025
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Weeks before the actress officially filed for divorce, Kidman subtly alluded in a Vogue interview to what appeared to be a cryptic preview of the split.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In a miraculous turn of events, Embrace was saved.—
Jane Marie Chen,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
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Its lone victory came via a miraculous last-second goal that Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl deflected into his own net.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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D’Angelo understood the ways in which restraint can be infinitely more haunting—and more alluring—than aggression.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
15 Oct. 2025
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Lisa Marie and Riley’s dual voices weave a haunting, intimate duet about family, grief, and carrying a legacy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This was the danger Madison considered — that mystic memory would falsely elevate the Constitution.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Oct. 2025
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Despite some promising high-concept notions such as an intergalactic federation, mystic beings, parasitic species, a sentient interstellar craft, and Slipstream FTL quantum mechanics, seemingly inevitable creative differences arose as the show progressed.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Despite their magical abilities, Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger faced the same problems as regular pre-teens and teens navigating life in boarding school.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
12 Oct. 2025
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The pair bicker and bond their way through the whimsical Panda Kingdom, a vibrant world that blends the everyday with the extraordinary, carrying animals and humans alike into something at once magical and mundane.—
Ben Croll,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Uncanny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncanny. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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