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Definition of "uncanny" []

  • Peculiarly unsettling, as if of supernatural origin or nature; eerie. See Synonyms at weird. (adjective)
  • So keen and perceptive as to seem preternatural. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "uncanny" in a sentence
  • "The Polar Express, even before the term uncanny valley was coined in 1970, Disney was giving us the willies with lifelike machines."
  • "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."
  • "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."