Meaning & use
unfamiliar
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Not known to you because you have not seen, heard or experienced it before.
Grammar: Before a noun or after be: an unfamiliar face.
Patterns
- unfamiliar to someone
- an unfamiliar place
The street was unfamiliar to me, so I checked the map.
An unfamiliar voice answered the phone.
The food tasted unfamiliar but delicious.
adjectiveafter a verb
Lacking knowledge or experience of something.
Grammar: Followed by with: unfamiliar with the software.
Patterns
- unfamiliar with something
I'm unfamiliar with the local customs.
Many drivers are unfamiliar with the new road layout.
She was unfamiliar with the software, so she asked for help.
Word forms
| comparative | more unfamiliar |
|---|---|
| superlative | most unfamiliar |
Common combinations
- unfamiliar territory
- The new job took her into unfamiliar territory.
- unfamiliar with
- I'm unfamiliar with this tool.
- unfamiliar surroundings
- The dog was nervous in unfamiliar surroundings.
- unfamiliar faces
- The party was full of unfamiliar faces.
- seem unfamiliar
- The word seems unfamiliar to me.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strange
- Strange suggests oddness or something that seems wrong, whereas unfamiliar only says you do not know it.
- unknown
- Unknown means nobody knows it, while unfamiliar means it is new to you.
- new
- New says something has recently appeared, but unfamiliar describes your lack of acquaintance.
- foreign
- Foreign means from another country, a narrower idea than unfamiliar.
Opposites
Word family
- familiar adjective
- well known to you
- familiarity noun
- knowledge or closeness with something
- familiarize verb
- to make yourself or others know something
- unfamiliarity noun
- the state of not knowing something
Commonly confused: unfamiliar or familiar to / with?
unfamiliar vs familiar to / with
Something is familiar to you, but you are familiar with it; the same pairs work for unfamiliar.
Practice
The tourists were unfamiliar ______ the local custom of removing shoes at the door.
Choose one answer.
Unfamiliar takes with when you lack knowledge of something. Of, at and for are not used in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unfamiliar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.