Uncanny

Word UNCANNY
Character 7
Hyphenation un can ny
Pronunciations /ʌnˈkæni/

Definitions and meanings of "Uncanny"

What do we mean by uncanny?

Mysterious or impossible to explain, especially when causing uneasiness or astonishment. synonym: weird. adjective

Not canny, in any sense.

Eery; weird; mysterious; apparently not of this world; hence, noting one supposed to possess preternatural powers.

Severe, as a fall or blow.

Not canny; unsafe; strange; weird; ghostly. adjective

Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird adjective

Careless. adjective

Suggesting the operation of supernatural influences adjective

Surpassing the ordinary or normal adjective

(Freud) Something that is simultaneously familiar and strange, typically leading to feelings of discomfort; translation of Freud's usage of the German "unheimlich" (literally "unsecret").

Synonyms and Antonyms for Uncanny

  • Antonyms for uncanny
  • Uncanny antonyms not found!

The word "uncanny" in example sentences

The Polar Express, even before the term uncanny valley was coined in 1970, Disney was giving us the willies with lifelike machines. ❋ Bdagosti (2011)

And Roboticist Masahiro Mori used the term uncanny valley to describe the disconcerting reaction people had to robots as they became more human-like in their appearance. ❋ Brian Crecente (2010)

In fact, in so far as the uncanny is also a signifier to which a real world referent can be attached we might be even more dubious. ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

And in so far as the uncanny is a signifier to which a real world referent can be attached -- the bestial amorality at the heart of human nature, the id unbound -- we might be equally dubious of the acts of validation carried out in the revelations of Horror. ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

FREED: It's not clear why the mismatch happened, but in trying to explain it, the coroner pointed to what he called the uncanny resemblance between the women, including body type, hair color and facial features. ❋ Unknown (2006)

This interest in common things was gratifying to Aunt Charlotte, who distrusted and discouraged his dwelling on what she called the uncanny side of life; but she was anxious, at the same time, that he should not overtax his strength, and gave secret orders to Lubin to see that the young master did not allow his ardour to outrun the dictates of discretion. ❋ Frederic H. Balfour (N/A)

The thing was not quite what we call uncanny; the people were so honest, both of them, that the morbid character of like situations was wanting. ❋ William Dean Howells (1878)

In our lit-crit terminology, this unsettling aspect of the "uncanny" is the implicity of a boulomaic modality of "should not have happened". ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

I did not know the story of "St. Christopher the Dog-Head" or Ratramnus 'reply to Rimbert when I wrote the original "Eifelheim," lo these many years ago; but there is a certain uncanny similarity in the stories. ❋ M_francis (2009)

And an excerpt from the Faren Miller review says: The situation seems less grim than exciting to a pair of girls who barely manage to hide their lesbianism, their anti-government sentiments, and certain uncanny capabilities (for whatever the leaders wish to think, whatever the laws decree, magic does exist here). ❋ Netcurmudgeon (2009)

I remembered his threat, and felt sure that all the long years of rivalry were about to culminate in uncanny battle. ❋ Unknown (2010)

And so, where the authority of the uncanny is negated in Heroic Fantasy we have an optimistic view in which, ultimately, the world itself is on the hero's side. ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

So, where the authority of the uncanny is validated in Horror we have a pessimistic view in which, ultimately, the world itself is against the hero. ❋ Hal Duncan (2008)

Over the space of the first hour, the film zoomed into the skyscraper, the image darkening until all that could be seen were the lights of the high-rise; and in uncanny synchronicity, this was also all we could see of the Cologne skyline to the west. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Cross Reference for Uncanny

  • Uncanny cross reference not found!

What does uncanny mean?

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