uncanny
Americanadjective
-
having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary.
uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.
-
mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange.
Uncanny sounds filled the house.
- Synonyms:
- odd, preternatural
adjective
-
characterized by apparently supernatural wonder, horror, etc
-
beyond what is normal or expected
an uncanny accuracy
Synonym Usage
See weird.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uncanny
Explanation
If something is uncanny, it is so mysterious, strange, or unfamiliar that it seems supernatural. If you hear strange music echoing through your attic, you might refer to it as positively uncanny. You can also use uncanny to refer to something that is so remarkable that it is beyond what is natural, as in "She has an uncanny ability to find her way around new places." This adjective was formed in English from the prefix un-, "not," and canny, "fortunate, safe." The current meaning of English canny is "careful and clever, especially in handling money."
Vocabulary lists containing uncanny
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 2
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Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
PSG had a lacklustre start to the domestic season - they always do, don't they? - but boast an uncanny ability to click into gear when it matters.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Yet Trump has also shown an uncanny fondness for incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, saying that despite turbulent trade relations, he and the veteran leftist, both 80, have "excellent chemistry."
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
A humanoid’s frantic attempts to stay upright—arms flailing, legs skittering—bears an uncanny resemblance to the choreographed collapses of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
The effect is something like uncanny sketch comedy, dredging laughs from Hansen’s stilted expressions and intense demeanor, regardless of a scene’s emotional gravity.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Its shrunken body bore an uncanny resemblance to the creatures that had haunted my dreams, as did the color of its flesh, which was like something that had been spit-roasted over a flame.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
