UNCANNY Synonyms: 167 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'uncanny' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words eerie and weird are common synonyms of uncanny . While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. // an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

Q: In what contexts can 'eerie' take the place of 'uncanny'?

The words eerie and uncanny are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work. // an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

Q: When would 'weird' be a good substitute for 'uncanny'?

Although the words weird and uncanny have much in common, weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness. // weird creatures from another world

uncanny

adjective

ˌən-ˈka-nē

Definition of uncanny next

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

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in eerie

fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic uncanny and unexpected shadows along the mountainsides

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word uncanny distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words eerie and weird are common synonyms of uncanny. While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

In what contexts can eerie take the place of uncanny?

The words eerie and uncanny are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

When would weird be a good substitute for uncanny?

Although the words weird and uncanny have much in common, weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of uncanny But the vibes within are less enchanting than uncanny. —

Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2024 With an uncanny ability to write 3-minute radio songs with occasional striking moments of lyrical depth, Petty made more hits than misses in the first two decades of his career. —

Al Shipley, SPIN, 1 Nov. 2024 There’s just something uncanny about the way the two of us work together. —

Gary Graff, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2024 Already, almost from the start, the biologists were changing from something human in the eyes of the locals into something uncanny. —

Jeff Vandermeer, WIRED, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for uncanny

Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny

Adjective

The film, which sees Ash and his traveling companions Misty and Brock go to a mysterious island where they’re caught up in the ultrastrong legendary Pokémon Mewtwo’s revenge plot against the cruel world that created him, was a high-water mark for Pokémon.

James Grebey, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2024
The deer, knowing by some mysterious means that his would-be slayer is a novice, stands still, looking with amusement at buck fever’s latest victim.

Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 6 Nov. 2024