familiarity

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

noun

plural

familiarities 

1. thorough knowledge or mastery of a thing, subject, etc.

2. the state of being familiar; friendly relationship; close acquaintance; intimacy.

3. an absence of ceremony and formality; informality.

   Synonyms: unconstraint

4. freedom of behavior justified only by the closest relationship; undue intimacy.

   Synonyms: license, freedom, liberty

5. Often familiarities. an instance of such freedom, as in action or speech.

6. a sexual liberty or impropriety.

familiarity

/ fəˌmɪlɪˈærɪtɪ /

noun

1. reasonable knowledge or acquaintance, as with a subject or place

2. close acquaintanceship or intimacy

3. undue intimacy

4. (sometimes plural) an instance of unwarranted intimacy

Other Word Forms

• overfamiliarity noun
• prefamiliarity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of familiarity¹

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

Example Sentences

His familiarity with multiple people in the Chargers’ organization, Oweh said, makes the “fresh start” easier to handle despite the “shocking” end to his tenure with the Ravens.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Because the story has been distilled, familiarity with the show is probably a necessity for full enjoyment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The adoption of AI agents could be accelerated by Gemini’s latest enterprise offerings, combined with the company’s existing distribution channels and familiarity with data security.

Read more on MarketWatch

Digging through the laundry for a jersey, once a dreaded weekend morning chore, gave me a comforting jolt of familiarity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It’s mostly been in chronological order, and sometimes just in the background while she’s working on something else but craving the show’s comforting familiarity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boldness 
• closeness 
• freshness www.thesaurus.com
• intimacy