uncanny

[ uhn-kan-ee ]
See synonyms for uncanny on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.

  2. mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.

Origin of uncanny

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; un-1 + canny

synonym study For uncanny

2. See weird.

Other words for uncanny

Opposites for uncanny

Other words from uncanny

  • un·can·ni·ly, adverb
  • un·can·ni·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use uncanny in a sentence

  • Even Mr. Midshipman Hamshaw was decidedly disconcerted and nonplussed by the uncanniness of the situation.

    The Great Airship. | F. S. Brereton
  • Her elocution was excellent, as her voice sank to an awed whisper, impressing even Bouchard with a certain uncanniness.

    The Last Shot | Frederick Palmer
  • Glory was a little red-headed witch from the first, with an air of general uncanniness in everything she did and said.

    The Christian | Hall Caine
  • "I think half of that uncanniness is due to the odd names hereabouts," Castleton observed.

    Sinister Street, vol. 2 | Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for uncanny

uncanny

/ (ʌnˈkænɪ) /


adjective
  1. characterized by apparently supernatural wonder, horror, etc

  2. beyond what is normal or expected: an uncanny accuracy

Derived forms of uncanny

  • uncannily, adverb
  • uncanniness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012