familiar

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Easy to recognize because you have seen, heard, or experienced it before.

   Grammar: Used before nouns and after linking verbs; something is familiar to a person: That voice is familiar to me.

   Patterns

   • a familiar face/sight/voice
   • something is familiar to someone
   • look/sound familiar

   I could not remember his name, but his face was familiar.

   Does this tune sound familiar to you?

2. 2adjectivecomparable

   Having a good knowledge of something, from experience or study.

   Grammar: Always followed by with, never to in this use: familiar with the rules; contrast familiar to me.

   Patterns

   • be familiar with something
   • become familiar with something

   Are you familiar with the new booking system?

   Over the years she became familiar with every street in the district.

3. 3adjectivecomparabledisapproving

   Friendly and informal in a way that is too relaxed or too personal.

   Grammar: Often in the phrase too familiar; suggests crossing a line of politeness or distance.

   Patterns

   • too familiar
   • be familiar with someone

   I do not like waiters getting too familiar with customers.

   He was accused of being overly familiar with the junior staff.

Word forms

Common combinations

a familiar face

A familiar face greeted us at the reception desk.

sound familiar

The name rang a bell, but the details did not sound familiar.

familiar with

I am not familiar with that procedure yet.

all too familiar

The warning signs were all too familiar to the nurses.

become familiar

The new routine quickly became familiar.

Synonyms and how they differ

well-known

Well-known means known by many people; familiar describes what one particular person recognizes from experience.

recognizable

Recognizable stresses that something can be identified; familiar adds the sense of prior personal experience.

acquainted

Acquainted with often means knowing a person slightly; familiar with covers knowledge of things, places, and subjects.

Opposites

Word family

familiarity noun

close knowledge of something; can also mean over-friendliness

familiarize verb

to make yourself or someone else familiar with something

familiarly adverb

in a familiar or informal way

Commonly confused: familiar or famous?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “familiar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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