suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; "an eldritch screech"; "the three weird sisters"; "stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"- John Galsworthy; "an unearthly light"; "he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din"- Henry Kingsley
Used in a Sentence
uncanny
How to use uncanny in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for uncanny.
Editorial note
' The phone has an uncanny similar look to the iPhone 3G. I think Apple had a legitimate case and don't understand all the Samsung love here.
Examples13
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; "an eldritch screech"; "the three weird sisters"; "stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"- John Galsworthy; "an unearthly light"; "he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din"- Henry Kingsley
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of uncanny gathered in one view.
surpassing the ordinary or normal; "Beyond his preternatural affability there is some acid and some steel" - George Will; "his uncanny sense of direction"
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for uncanny.
adjective
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; "an eldritch screech"; "the three weird sisters"; "stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"- John Galsworthy; "an unearthly light"; "he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din"- Henry Kingsley
adjective
surpassing the ordinary or normal; "Beyond his preternatural affability there is some acid and some steel" - George Will; "his uncanny sense of direction"
See also: preternatural
Example sentences
' The phone has an uncanny similar look to the iPhone 3G. I think Apple had a legitimate case and don't understand all the Samsung love here.
We're smack in the middle of an uncanny valley between two economic periods.
The American health-care system thrives in the uncanny valley between the government and the free market.
I was completely undistracted by the fact that I was watching CG. Obviously I was not fooled into thinking that I was watching live action, but that's not what it means to cross the uncanny valley.
The only uncanny valley effect here is that the water doesn't wet anything - everything is perfect Teflon.
Hypothesis: German and British cultures are so similar as to create an 'uncanny valley' situation.
" He didn't have to understand what the thing was, but he was uncanny in finding great candidates... in large part because his reputation caused them to seek him out.
America has a weird uncanny valley of citizenship statuses.
The current business climate does create some awkward and unnecessary dilemmas for people in the uncanny valley between being an entrepreneur and an employee.
It's a sort of uncanny valley thing that manifests itself likewise in the common discussion of whether something feels "native", or whether you should use the OS-provided UI elements vs. re-invent the wheel when writing an app.
* If you ruthlessly constrain the features of a natural language-like programming language, it's possible that you can keep the advantage of human readability and dodge the disadvantage of the "uncanny valley", as `antihero` succinctly put it.
What's most impressive about that gift -- focused as it may be by the intensified concentration that his dyslexia demands -- is Boies' uncanny ability to recall a key fact, legal citation or piece of contradictory testimony at moments of the most intense pressure.
I think the "creepy" factor of the images is probably due to the "uncanny valley"... Pixar fought this effect when they were first rendering humans"The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotics and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use uncanny in a sentence?
' The phone has an uncanny similar look to the iPhone 3G. I think Apple had a legitimate case and don't understand all the Samsung love here.
What does uncanny mean?
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; "an eldritch screech"; "the three weird sisters"; "stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"- John Galsworthy; "an unearthly light"; "he could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din"- Henry Kingsley
What part of speech is uncanny?
uncanny is commonly used as adjective.