déjà vu
noun
dé·jà vu ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈvü 
-ˈvᵫ
-ˈvᵫ 1
a
: the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time
b
: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before
Despite a blond, swept-back mane all his own, Fonda looks startlingly like his father, Henry … . He even moves like his father, only dispelling the eerie feeling of déjà vu when he opens his mouth.
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind2
: something overly or unpleasantly familiar
The team's poor start to the season was déjà vu for its long-suffering fans.
Example Sentences
I entered the room and immediately felt a sense of déjà vu. When the car broke down again, it was déjà vu. The rise in housing costs is déjà vu all over again.
Recent Examples on the Web Dylan Merola’s mom, Cheryl Rex, is experiencing a different kind of deja vu. San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Aug. 2022 Olivia Rodrigo gave Taylor Swift fans some deja vu at the Grammys. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 4 Apr. 2022 The Omicron variant has brought about something of a deja vu from 2020, when public gatherings nationwide were shuttered one-by-one due to the onset of the highly contagious coronavirus. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021 But, like a grim deja vu, hospital beds are filled with Covid-19 patients again, most unvaccinated. Jack Hannah, Jason Carroll And Christina Maxouris, CNN, 17 Dec. 2021 President Obama expels 35 🇷🇺 diplomats in Cold War deja vu. Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2018 The limited supply of testing in the early days of the monkeypox outbreak definitely feels like deja vu with the early days of the COVID pandemic. Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2022 For many of these travelers, that meant not only making frantic calls to family and changing their travel plans, but dealing with a case of deja vu -- many of the people visiting Hainan were seeking a reprieve from strict lockdowns in Shanghai. CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 Yet in a moment of deja vu, the U.S. had far fewer than what was needed, with people who wanted the vaccine being turned away when doses ran out. Tonya Bauer, NBC News, 28 July 2022 See More
San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Aug. 2022 Olivia Rodrigo gave Taylor Swift fans some deja vu at the Grammys. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 4 Apr. 2022 The Omicron variant has brought about something of a deja vu from 2020, when public gatherings nationwide were shuttered one-by-one due to the onset of the highly contagious coronavirus. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021 But, like a grim deja vu, hospital beds are filled with Covid-19 patients again, most unvaccinated. Jack Hannah, Jason Carroll And Christina Maxouris, CNN, 17 Dec. 2021 President Obama expels 35 🇷🇺 diplomats in Cold War deja vu. Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2018 The limited supply of testing in the early days of the monkeypox outbreak definitely feels like deja vu with the early days of the COVID pandemic. Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2022 For many of these travelers, that meant not only making frantic calls to family and changing their travel plans, but dealing with a case of deja vu -- many of the people visiting Hainan were seeking a reprieve from strict lockdowns in Shanghai. CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 Yet in a moment of deja vu, the U.S. had far fewer than what was needed, with people who wanted the vaccine being turned away when doses ran out. Tonya Bauer, NBC News, 28 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French, adjective, literally, already seen
First Known Use
1903, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Medical Definition
déjà vu
noun
dé·jà vu ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈv(y)ü, dā-zhȧ-vᵫ̅
: paramnesia sense b