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Synonyms

unfamiliar

American  
[uhn-fuh-mil-yer] / ˌʌn fəˈmɪl yər /

adjective

  1. not familiar; not acquainted with or conversant about.

    to be unfamiliar with a subject.

  2. different; unaccustomed; unusual; strange.

    an unfamiliar treat.
    Synonyms:
    new, novel, curious
unfamiliar British  
/ ˌʌnfəˈmɪljə, ˌʌnfəˌmɪlɪˈærɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. not known or experienced; strange

  2. not familiar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • unfamiliarity noun
  • unfamiliarly adverb

Etymology

Origin of unfamiliar

First recorded in 1585–95; un- 1 + familiar

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There are still a large group of people that are unfamiliar with our brand.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rescue centres said with winters getting "wetter and wetter" and summers getting warmer, fewer hedgehogs were having a full hibernation, leading to health issues and unfamiliar feeding patterns.

From BBC

For six months, the son of one of the world’s richest men kept hearing the same unfamiliar word: No.

From The Wall Street Journal

For most hardy Labour delegates, defeat is not an unfamiliar feeling.

From BBC

He walked at a fast clip, feeling quite excited because this was, after all, an excursion into the unchartered and unfamiliar.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.