小词详解 | uncanny

uncanny 英 [ʌnˈkæni] 美 [ʌnˈkæni]

SAT TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

  • The similarities between Chelsea and Ivanka are uncanny: they are, among other things, both in their mid-30s, and both married to men whose fathers have done time in prison.
    切尔西和伊万卡之间有着出奇的相似之处,比如两人都是三十五六岁,她们的公公都曾坐过牢。
    ——《经济学人》
  • This new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own.
    这项新的影片制作技术可以让我们和距离自己非常遥远的人建立起不可思议的纽带。
    ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[adjective] strange or mysterious, especially difficult or impossible to explain
[形容词] 离奇或神秘的,特别是难以或无法解释清楚的

深入解读

对于大多数小伙伴来说,canny这个单词不会太陌生,多用于指“精明狡诈的、老谋深算的”。但canny如果用在否定结构中,指的却是“可说明的、自然的”,比如对陌生人来说难以理解的事件,就可以说“events not canny to strangers”。同样,在canny前面加上否定前缀之后的uncanny,也是指“不可知的、神秘的、不寻常的”,甚至让人瘆得慌的情况。

名人用例

To have influence, you really don't need to have power. But what you need more than anything else is to have that almost uncanny understanding of what matters to people.
要想有影响力,你真的不需要权力。而你最需要的是对人们最在乎的东西有着近乎不可思议的理解。

出自安妮·斯维尼(Anne Sweeney,1957年11月4日—),美国商界女性,曾任迪士尼媒体公司联合主席、迪士尼ABC电视集团总裁、迪斯尼频道总裁。

同近义词

  • extraordinary: very unusual, special, unexpected, or strange
  • mysterious: strange, not known, or not understood
  • preternatural: more than is usual or natural