Added 29 September 2026
uncanny
/ʌnˈkæni/ adjective
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about uncanny at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird.
He bore an uncanny resemblance to the dead sailor.
- Careless.
noun
- Something that is simultaneously familiar and strange, typically leading to feelings of discomfort.
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)