unfamiliar

[ uhn-fuh-mil-yer ]
See synonyms for unfamiliar on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not familiar; not acquainted with or conversant about: to be unfamiliar with a subject.

  2. different; unaccustomed; unusual; strange: an unfamiliar treat.

Origin of unfamiliar

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

Other words for unfamiliar

Other words from unfamiliar

  • un·fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty [uhn-fuh-mil-ee-ar-i-tee], /ˌʌn fəˌmɪl iˈær ɪ ti/, noun
  • un·fa·mil·iar·ly, adverb

Words Nearby unfamiliar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use unfamiliar in a sentence

  • In search of a lost handkerchief, they regained the Clayhanger premises by an unfamiliar side door.

    Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
  • He had been something real and tangible in that shadowy place—something familiar in an unfamiliar world.

    The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts Rinehart
  • Weston was in no mood to discuss questions of that kind, though the curious sensation was not altogether unfamiliar to him.

    The Gold Trail | Harold Bindloss
  • There was a slight, persistent tingling vibration in everything that was unfamiliar, too.

    The Stars, My Brothers | Edmond Hamilton
  • This book was the work of some one unfamiliar, unrecognizable, forgotten by the happy woman that she was.

    The Creators | May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for unfamiliar

unfamiliar

/ (ˌʌnfəˈmɪljə) /


adjective
  1. not known or experienced; strange

  2. (postpositive foll by with) not familiar

Derived forms of unfamiliar

  • unfamiliarity (ˌʌnfəˌmɪlɪˈærɪtɪ), noun
  • unfamiliarly, adverb

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