familiarity
Americannoun
plural
familiarities-
thorough knowledge or mastery of a thing, subject, etc.
-
the state of being familiar; friendly relationship; close acquaintance; intimacy.
-
an absence of ceremony and formality; informality.
- Synonyms:
- unconstraint
-
freedom of behavior justified only by the closest relationship; undue intimacy.
-
Often familiarities. an instance of such freedom, as in action or speech.
-
a sexual liberty or impropriety.
noun
-
reasonable knowledge or acquaintance, as with a subject or place
-
close acquaintanceship or intimacy
-
undue intimacy
-
(sometimes plural) an instance of unwarranted intimacy
Other Word Forms
- overfamiliarity noun
- prefamiliarity noun
Etymology
Origin of familiarity
1350–1400; Middle English familiarite (< Anglo-French ) < Latin familiāritās intimacy. See familiar, -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That familiarity was evident as nearly every pedestrian waved or said hello, many greeting him like an old friend.
From Los Angeles Times
They say that familiarity breeds contempt, but that’s only half the story.
From Salon
McCormack says this may be because of its novelty and practitioners’ lack of familiarity.
Tolkien used his scholarly familiarity with ancient storytelling modes to create a a world so vast it spills off of the page.
Gioia’s purpose was to analyze “the new aesthetics of slop,” but what strikes me about his critique is its familiarity.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
