Word
uncanny
Phoneticsun·can·ny, stress on the second syllable
US/ənˈkæni/
UK/ʌnkˈæni/
Definitions
01strange and unsettling
C1 · Advanced Literary
adj. strange and mysterious in a way that makes you feel slightly uncomfortable or scared.
adj. arousing feelings of dread or unease through being mysterious, strange, or seemingly supernatural.
“The silence in the old house was uncanny and made me feel nervous.”
“There was an uncanny resemblance between the two strangers, as if they had been separated at birth despite having no biological connection.”
02extraordinary or beyond normal
C1 · Advanced Formal
adj. so good or accurate that it seems impossible or mysterious.
adj. surpassing what is normal or expected in a way that seems almost supernatural; often used to describe skills or accuracy.
“She has an uncanny ability to know exactly what I am thinking.”
“The detective possessed an uncanny knack for spotting inconsistencies in witness statements that others completely overlooked.”
Synonyms
03the psychological concept
C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Science Technical · Academic
n. the strange feeling you get when something is almost human but not quite right, like a very realistic robot.
n. the psychological experience of something being simultaneously familiar and foreign, resulting in a sense of cognitive dissonance or revulsion.
“The robot's face was so realistic that it crossed into the uncanny.”
“Freud's essay on the uncanny explores how the familiar can become a source of dread when it is presented in a distorted or repetitive manner.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“The narrative floats just above the surface of the everyday, a world where trauma transforms the mundane into something uncanny.” “Dark tourism research reveals that people are drawn to places associated with death, disaster, tragedy and the uncanny, whether former prisons, abandoned sites, or locations connected to unsettling historical events.” 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).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/uncanny