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.
Now that we have fallen straight through the looking glass of the internet, that gap has narrowed to the extent that we are having far greater difficulty discerning reality from its uncanny simulations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
As well as being uncanny, for Panettiere it was traumatic to act out things so similar to her real life.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The uncanny valley is live for consumption, for free, at No. 300 on the Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
Kaeppel has done the research and found that over the past 106 years, the U.S. equity market has followed a seven-year cycle with uncanny regularity.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions 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.
