déjà vu

or de·ja vu

[ dey-zhah voo, vyoo; French dey-zha vy ]

noun

1. Psychology. the illusion of having previously experienced something actually being encountered for the first time.
2. disagreeable familiarity or sameness:

   The new television season had a sense of déjà vu about it—the same old plots and characters with new names.

3. the sense or feeling of having previously experienced something that really has been encountered before:

   It was déjà vu at the bobsled track today as the U.S. team again claimed the top podium positions.

déjà vu

/ ˈdeɪʒæ ˈvuː; deʒa vy /

noun

1. the experience of perceiving a new situation as if it had occurred before. It is sometimes associated with exhaustion or certain types of mental disorder

déjà vu

1. The strange sensation that something one is now experiencing has happened before: “I knew I had never been in the house before, but as I walked up the staircase, I got a weird sense of déjà vu.” From French, meaning “already seen.”

Spelling Note

See resume ².

Word History and Origins

Origin of déjà vu¹

First recorded in 1900–05; from French: literally, “already seen”

Word History and Origins

Origin of déjà vu¹

from French, literally: already seen

Example Sentences

Along with the gloom, there is a strong sense of déjà vu - like we have seen this all many times before in the past 15 years.

From BBC

This week, there was a feeling of deja vu at City Hall as political leaders braced for another round against President-elect Donald Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

If Deadwyler had any lingering bitterness about the furor, or concerns about déjà vu with the building excitement about “The Piano Lesson,” it wasn’t in evidence when she bounded into a Beverly Hills hotel room recently, upbeat and lively.

From Los Angeles Times

Forgive Democrats if they are having a bit of déjà vu.

From Los Angeles Times

In a typewritten fundraising letter mailed to older voters this fall, Garvey recalled that during his baseball glory days of the 1970s, “Democrat policies had brought America to its knees. And now, as Yogi Berra used to say, ‘It’s deja vu all over again.’”

From Los Angeles Times