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

Writing and the arts function as a medium for defamiliarization.

From Slate • May 17, 2023

These interludes do hint at Undine’s sense of defamiliarization, amid her new circumstances, but they are distracting.

From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2019

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

In 1917 a Russian guy, Viktor Shklovsky, came up with a word for this: defamiliarization.

From The Verge • Oct. 27, 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