familiarity

[ fuh-mil-ee-ar-i-tee, -mil-yar- ]

/ fəˌmɪl iˈær ɪ ti, -mɪlˈyær- /

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See synonyms for familiarity on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural fa·mil·i·ar·i·ties.

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.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR familiarity

3 unconstraint.

4 liberty, freedom, license.

See synonyms for familiarity on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of familiarity

1350–1400; Middle English familiarite (<Anglo-French ) <Latin familiāritās intimacy. See familiar, -ity

OTHER WORDS FROM familiarity

o·ver·fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty, nounpre·fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty, noun

Words nearby familiarity

famed, Fameuse, familial, familial hypercholesterolemia, familiar, familiarity, Familiarity breeds contempt, familiarize, families, familism, Familist

How to use familiarity in a sentence

They had a bit of shared history, with plenty to still uncover about one another, a mix of familiarity and intrigue that’s rare when getting to know someone in your golden years.
They met in high school. Fifty years later, the pandemic helped them realize they belonged together.|Lisa Bonos|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Listeners constantly hear “country music is a family,” as the genre goes above and beyond to sell familiarity.
How the wives of country music stars created their own powerful — sometimes controversial — Instagram empires|Emily Yahr|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
The study didn’t include other factors, like a person’s own familiarity with weapons.
Video games deserve better than blanket, parachute coverage from reporters who don’t get it|Gene Park|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
He has experience as an offensive coordinator at Miami and Arkansas, and he has familiarity with Locksley’s offensive system.
Maryland football staff faces more turnover with the departure of multiple assistants|Emily Giambalvo|January 26, 2021|Washington Post

As visualizations of an unfolding pandemic, our familiarity with the idea of a dashboard and its operations obscures the significant delays and gaps in public health metric reporting and the limits of individual action.
Covid-19 dashboards are vital, yet flawed, sources of public information|Jacqueline Wernimont|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
And there is definitely something to finding solace in food, familiarity, and memory.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone|Samantha Levine|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Talking about death is never easy, but with food, comfort, and familiarity, a new kind of dinner party is making it easier.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone|Samantha Levine|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Living in a society openly governed by force with those who have demonstrated their familiarity with it increases the danger.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Familiarity with search-engines helps, a strange quirk of working in this retro medium.
Blurred Lines at NY Sketchbook Museum|Daniel Genis|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The difference is one of familiarity and choice not law or logic.
Supreme Court Justices Looked to Personal Views Rather Than Legal Arguments for Hobby Lobby Decision|Eric Segall|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was such a magnificent sum that Sol did not feel like taking the familiarity with it of mentioning it aloud.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Education is the cultivation of a just and legitimate familiarity betwixt the mind and things.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Education is a just and legitimate familiarity betwixt the mind and things.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
His imagination, wakened by Egypt, plunged backwards with a sense of strange familiarity.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Even slight familiarity with the microscopic structure of vegetable tissue will prevent the chagrin of such errors.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for familiarity

familiarity

/ (fəˌmɪlɪˈærɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

reasonable knowledge or acquaintance, as with a subject or place

close acquaintanceship or intimacy

undue intimacy

(sometimes plural) an instance of unwarranted intimacy

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

familiarity

OTHER WORDS FOR familiarity

Origin of familiarity

OTHER WORDS FROM familiarity

Words nearby familiarity

Words related to familiarity

How to use familiarity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for familiarity