Definition of UNCANNY

uncanny

Adjective Satellite

  • suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; ; ; - John Galsworthy; ; - Henry Kingsley
    • "stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"
  • surpassing the ordinary or normal; - George Will
    • "his uncanny sense of direction"

Adj

  • Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird.
  • Careless.

Noun

  • Something that is simultaneously familiar and strange, typically leading to feelings of discomfort.

Adjective

  • Strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way.

Examples

  • He bore an uncanny resemblance to the dead sailor.
  • Her uncanny ability to draw the exact tiles she needed always impressed her Words With Friends opponents.

Origin / Etymology

From un- + canny; thus “beyond one's ken,” or outside one's familiar knowledge or perceptions. Compare Middle English unkanne (“unknown”). In the noun sense a translation of Sigmund Freud's usage of German unheimlich (Das Unheimliche, 1919).

Scrabble Score: 12

uncanny: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
uncanny: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
uncanny: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

uncanny: valid Words With Friends Word