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

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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

Example 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 The work proved to have uncanny resonances with the catastrophe that overtook Pacific Palisades and Altadena on January 7th. —

Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025 The 6-foot-6 wing does it with a unique style and uncanny body control. —

Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2025 And banality – well, that has a little bit to do with the uncanny valley. —

John Werner, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025 For his part, Soderbergh, one of the most restlessly inventive filmmakers working today, seems haunted by all of cinema, though there’s another uncanny, well, presence, in this movie. —

Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for uncanny

Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncanny

Adjective

Beyond mysterious Gathering new data about Venus is vital, Garvin pointed out, so that the next wave of exploration is grounded in what must be done first as scientists attempt to further reveal our sister world.

— Leonard David, Space.com, 8 Feb. 2025
That gusher of findings will include new observations of exoplanets—or planets orbiting other stars; new surveys of the structure of the Milky Way; and new studies of dark energy, the mysterious, invisible force that causes the universe to expand continuously at an ever-accelerating rate.

— Jeffrey Kluger/Greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025