defamiliarization

American  

[dee-fuh-mil-yer-uh-zey-shuhn] / ˌdi fəˌmɪl yər əˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Art, Literature. a theory and technique, originating in the early 20th century, in which an artistic or literary work presents familiar objects or situations in an unfamiliar way, prolonging the perceptive process and allowing for a fresh perspective.

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Etymology

Origin of defamiliarization

de- + familiarize + -ation; loan translation of Russian ostranenie

Example Sentences

This idea of defamiliarization, made famous in a 1917 essay by Russian literary critic Viktor Shklovsky, builds on our tendency not to notice things we encounter frequently.

From Slate • May 17, 2023

More than simply subverting expectations, the architects practice a kind of radical defamiliarization, using every tool at their disposal to create environments so perfectly off-kilter that they achieve an entirely new kind of balance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2018

Irony poisoning is real, and comes as a consequence of the kind of Shklovskyan defamiliarization — presenting everyday things in an unfamiliar way — that the internet is so good at.

From The Verge • Sep. 27, 2018

And I think there’s a defamiliarization of the instrument that comes from a certain disconnect between hands and brain.

From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2018

Stephen, the protagonist of “The Long Room,” catches an unexpected view of himself in a mirror and sees “a bare, forked animal,” a startling and perfect fragment of defamiliarization plucked from Shakespeare.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2016