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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Stavridis, however, said the potential ship renaming is uncanny, especially during a month established to celebrate gay rights.
—
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 6 June 2025
Fraser reveals an uncanny pattern of polluting smelters and the men brought up in their shadows, prone to mood swings and erratic tantrums.
—Hamilton Cain, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Rodgers even had an uncanny ability to connect on Hail Mary throws.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 June 2025
One of the most revealing discoveries by law enforcement was a manuscript entitled Points of Origin, a novel Orr wrote with moments mirroring the real-life fires with uncanny specificity.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 6 June 2025
Fraser reveals an uncanny pattern of polluting smelters and the men brought up in their shadows, prone to mood swings and erratic tantrums.
—Hamilton Cain, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Rodgers even had an uncanny ability to connect on Hail Mary throws.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 June 2025
One of the most revealing discoveries by law enforcement was a manuscript entitled Points of Origin, a novel Orr wrote with moments mirroring the real-life fires with uncanny specificity.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny
Adjective
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Four thousand years ago, however, Crete was also a crossroads dominated by a mysterious and largely still poorly understood Bronze Age culture that predated classical Greece.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
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The movie is led by Tom Hiddleston as the titular, mysterious Chuck Krantz, with a supporting cast that includes Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Matthew Lillard, Annalise Basso and Kate Siegel.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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While tech companies have been throwing around impressive-sounding claims of superhuman performance in narrow tasks, business leaders and policymakers have been left squinting through the hype, trying to figure out what any of it actually means for the real world.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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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
Adjective
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Lochridge cites the monitoring system for the Titan’s novel carbon fiber hull — the same system that showed eerie cracking noises.—
Adam Carlson,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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Phobias, a silent clown duo with a horror twist, brought eerie theatrics to the stage — complete with balloon popping and unsettling surprises — and successfully freaked out the judges (especially Howie Mandel).—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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This Instagram comment comes amid a series of cryptic social media posts shared by Bieber and growing concerns for him.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
12 June 2025
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Gad teased work on the project in 2024 with a cryptic Instagram post that blocked out certain sections on the script’s cover page.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2025
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Still, Maye was able to make a miraculous pass for the first down, throwing against the grain.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Turns out, after a haunting 4-3 loss in the 2024 Memorial Cup championship to the Saginaw Spirit, Cowan had a lot left to learn and to gain in his game.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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Guth landed on a more haunting and ambiguous image: Salome walking into a luminous mist, leaving mad reality behind.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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This book contains the first English translation of the writings of af Klint, a Swedish painter and mystic.—
Melissa Febos,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2025
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The author also varies the texture of the book by inserting poems, quotations, dramatic dialogue, a veiled account of her unhappy days at boarding school, and a lengthy digression on the German mystic Friederike Hauffe, who claimed to be clairvoyant and to communicate with spirits.—
James Marcus,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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During last year’s Stanley Cup magical goodwill tour around South Florida, a Panthers staffer surprised patrons by walking into Shuck N Dive in September with the trophy, setting off a social-media frenzy.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
7 June 2025
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There’s something a little bit magical happening with weatherproof sofas and couches right now.—
Erika Owen,
Vogue,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Uncanny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncanny. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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