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
Whether a language model responds to prompts with gibberish or uncanny fluency depends on another set of numbers called parameters, which describe the connections inside its neural network.
—
Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
Becca’s disintegration emphasizes the parts of her that endure; the avatar, on the other hand, is a parody of that real flesh, an uncanny and malevolent imitation.
—Alexandra Kleeman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
There’s always something uncanny in there that’s a little off-kilter.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Each week, Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale would drive into a new locale, discover that a murder had taken place, and solve it using her uncanny ability to recognize when people are lying.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
Becca’s disintegration emphasizes the parts of her that endure; the avatar, on the other hand, is a parody of that real flesh, an uncanny and malevolent imitation.
—Alexandra Kleeman, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
There’s always something uncanny in there that’s a little off-kilter.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Each week, Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale would drive into a new locale, discover that a murder had taken place, and solve it using her uncanny ability to recognize when people are lying.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny
Adjective
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Denim shifts toward a mysterious direction in Blooming Darkness.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
27 May 2025
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Carlton Reid Based on 20 years of observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, new research sheds light on one of the solar system’s most mysterious planets.—
Ryan Waniata,
Wired News,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Peter Dinklage plays the title role, a janitor who becomes a CEO-fighting vigilante after falling into toxic waste and transforming into a mutant with superhuman size and strength.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Time,
16 May 2025
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Seriously, some of his recoveries seem superhuman, like film of prime Carl Lewis was spliced into the game tape.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Set on an eerie yet beautiful island, this book is equal parts mystery and love story.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
24 May 2025
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Scribes and sculptors, for the most part, stopped carving significant dates into stone, giving archeologists the eerie impression that Maya history had ended.—
Lizzie Wade,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Neither Henry nor Devers have been willing to detail that conversation until now, as Devers finally broke his silence on the discussion with a cryptic four-word message.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
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Still, his message ended on a cheerful note that showed the musician seems to be taking the cryptic dismissal in stride.—
Glenn Rowley,
Billboard,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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There’s conflict in everything, in the clashing of worlds and the fight for a world that makes sense to believe in, yet miraculous poetry and optimism somehow, too.—
Ella Kemp,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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Their survival, staff say, is nothing short of miraculous.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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In a beautiful collision of worlds, our talented composer Paul Banks has reinterpreted two Iggy songs in his own unique and haunting way, serving as celebration of both Iggy and the film’s themes.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
15 May 2025
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The massacre of the Jezebel’s women is a scene of shocking violence for the dystopian series, and the execution of so many women is a haunting vision June imagines when she’s then told by Nick what happened.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
6 May 2025
Adjective
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Among employees, he had been known as a deep thinker and even something of a mystic, regularly speaking in spiritual terms.—
Karen Hao,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2025
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Lag BaOmer celebrates the anniversary of the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.—
Rabbi Moishe Kievman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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And just like in those films, the magical creatures steal the spotlight.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
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Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were the first actors to play the magical roles, across eight films from 2001 to 2011.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Uncanny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncanny. Accessed 31 May. 2025.
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