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
Related Words
See weird.
Other Word Forms
- uncannily adverb
- uncanniness noun
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.
Lajos is born with skin so pale it is almost transparent, and while Mr. Biedermann soon ceases to mention the abnormality, it introduces Lajos’s uncanny lifelong sensation of invisibility.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
That’s not the only moment in Hobsbawm’s 1994 book “The Age of Extremes” that now reads as uncanny.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
Their timing has long seemed almost uncanny, leading many people to assume that ravens simply follow wolves to find food.
From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026
"The character stuff is uncanny & weird tho, & it feels like artistic expression risks being squeezed out."
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
But Howard was blessed with an uncanny ability to see potential in unlikely packages, and he had a cavalryman’s eye for horsemen.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
