unaccustomed
Americanadjective
-
not accustomed or habituated.
to be unaccustomed to hardships.
-
unusual; unfamiliar.
A brief after-dinner speech is an unaccustomed pleasure.
- Synonyms:
- unexpected, peculiar, curious, extraordinary, uncommon
adjective
-
(foll by to) not used (to)
unaccustomed to pain
-
not familiar; strange or unusual
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unaccustomed
First recorded in 1520–30; un- 1 + accustomed
Explanation
If you're unaccustomed to something, you're not used to it. When you're unaccustomed to riding a horse, it might take a while to get the hang of staying in the saddle. An unaccustomed knock on the door might startle you and make your dog bark in alarm, and an unaccustomed bonus in your paycheck will come as a happy surprise. You might feel awkward having tea with a princess in a palace if you're unaccustomed to fine dining and dignified table manners. The prefix un here means "not," and it's combined with accustom, with its ultimate Latin root word consuetudinem, "habit, usage, practice, or custom."
Vocabulary lists containing unaccustomed
Flowers for Algernon
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Stories of Ourselves
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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.
Unaccustomed to being contradicted by soldiers, Issa spun around.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
Unaccustomed to the sounds of artillery, she said, she expected to be hit after every blast.
From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2023
Unaccustomed to such remarks from an ambassador of a close ally, the German government formally asked the U.S. government for clarification.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2020
Unaccustomed to philanthropic feasts on the part of a municipal employee, the first time she put out food on Halloween 2015, students asked how much it cost to take a soda.
From Washington Times • Jun. 21, 2019
Unaccustomed to such strenuous labor, they would stop digging as they pleased, basking in the sun until they were trodden on by columns of marching rats.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
