UN CANNIEST Synonyms: 167 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'uncanny' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words eerie and weird are common synonyms of uncanny . While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. // an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

Q: In what contexts can 'eerie' take the place of 'uncanny'?

The words eerie and uncanny are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work. // an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

Q: When would 'weird' be a good substitute for 'uncanny'?

Although the words weird and uncanny have much in common, weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness. // weird creatures from another world

uncanny

adjective

ˌən-ˈka-nē

Definition of uncanny next

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in eerie

fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic uncanny and unexpected shadows along the mountainsides

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word uncanny distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words eerie and weird are common synonyms of uncanny. While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

In what contexts can eerie take the place of uncanny?

The words eerie and uncanny are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

When would weird be a good substitute for uncanny?

Although the words weird and uncanny have much in common, weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of uncanny The mechas want to study David and his uncanny human qualities; within him, in a sense, is the last remnant of the long-dead human society. —

Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026 But their inner lives don’t hold shape the way her little girls (and boys) do, with their uncanny dialogue and idiosyncratic observations. —

Literary Hub, 8 June 2026 Eastern Forest Tick Examined under a microscope, this minuscule parasite bears an uncanny resemblance to your childhood bully, right down to its mullet and Van Halen T-shirt. —

Jay Ruttenberg, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 In an uncanny coincidence, Bateson had played a small role as an assistant in an NYU medical center scene in The Exorcist five years earlier. —

David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for uncanny

Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny

Adjective

The novel is built around an encounter between the mysterious title character and a music hall aficionado in London in 1938, the year before World War II.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 June 2026
In actuality, its premise falls closer to Apple’s Palm Royale or the 2010s ABC drama Revenge, following a mysterious outsider trying to gain a foothold among the elite.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026