uncanny
un·canny
adjective
1.
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
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).
Phrases
- uncanny valley
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.