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
It’s seamlessly edited by Lucian Johnston — a key figure on any Aster feature — offers an uncanny soundtrack from Daniel Pemberton and boasts some of the best cinematography of the year from Darius Khondji.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 July 2025
The uncanny feeling these images conjure is complemented by much more direct shots of daily life, beauty pageants, and church services, as well as men running from cops and navigating life in prison.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
Trump has always had an uncanny instinct for what his followers want to hear, which is what makes this shift so fascinating.
—Jesse Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Indeed, verisimilitude is probably the greatest strength here, whether in the uncanny set design or the way Makarova recreates the fraught emotional atmosphere of life at the end of the Cold War.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 July 2025
The uncanny feeling these images conjure is complemented by much more direct shots of daily life, beauty pageants, and church services, as well as men running from cops and navigating life in prison.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
Trump has always had an uncanny instinct for what his followers want to hear, which is what makes this shift so fascinating.
—Jesse Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Indeed, verisimilitude is probably the greatest strength here, whether in the uncanny set design or the way Makarova recreates the fraught emotional atmosphere of life at the end of the Cold War.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for uncanny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny
Adjective
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Years after gaining superpowers from being bombarded by cosmic rays in space, the astronauts-turned-superheroes face a new threat when the mysterious Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), heralds the coming of the world-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
26 July 2025
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More Miguel Rodriguez/Getty Images What's so mysterious about a team playing well?—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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Libidinal hip-hop has vanished from the charts, now the province of artists who narrate their mental health struggles rather than their superhuman urges or tastes.—
Armin Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
25 July 2025
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Mister Terrific technically possesses no true superhuman powers other than being extraordinarily smart.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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That kind of eerie alignment is how the song came into the world in the first place.—
Sarah Grant,
Rolling Stone,
23 July 2025
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By the time of totality at 3:20 p.m., dense clouds obscured the view, with an eerie darkness and a golden horizon.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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The Wall Street Journal reported in the evening on July 17 that Trump sent Epstein a lewd, cryptic letter for his 50th birthday.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
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In the days leading up to the show, Tyler hinted at a surprise set for July 21 by posting cryptic images on his Instagram, including a Louis Vuitton bag, a mannequin’s head and a trumpet player in a band uniform.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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Osbourne’s public rebirth with The Osbournes—the MTV reality series that ran from 2002 to 2005—transmuted his erratic nature and past struggles into a miraculous joke.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
23 July 2025
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The original statue in Manila was brought to the Philippines in 1606 and faithful around the world have attributed miraculous healing properties to the statue.—
Emilie Takahashi,
Oc Register,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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The sobering and haunting experience, MacDonald said, has sparked an interest in how the search for missing persons can be improved.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
29 June 2025
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The video plays clips of the Weeknd singing the haunting lyrics in front of several cement backdrops that show the star stuck in a sort of purgatory.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The man from Osaka’s right arm is almost mystic, like one of California’s solemn redwoods.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
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Further projects include psychological thriller The Olive Press, set in the mystic world of the Druze community in Mount Lebanon, from writer and director Samah El Kadi, and co-written by Nadim Chammas.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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But forget logic, because everything about Dillon’s magical run has defied logic.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
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After encountering a magical heart in the forest, strange things start happening around her.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Uncanny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncanny. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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