unacquainted
Britishadjective
-
not familiar or conversant with (someone or something)
-
(of people) not having met or been introduced
Explanation
If you're unacquainted with someone, the two of you have never met. If you and your next-door neighbor are unacquainted, it would be friendly to introduce yourself. When people are unacquainted, they don't know each other, and if you're unacquainted with something, it's completely unfamiliar to you. So if your best friend is unacquainted with the music of your favorite band, you might decide to buy her a concert ticket, so she can become familiar (or acquainted) with their music. The Latin root, accognoscere, means "know well."
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.
For the unacquainted, I'll share how I first came to learn of Hazan.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2023
Writing the screenplay for “Women Talking” required a rigor and ruthlessness I was previously unacquainted with.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
But no longer can he claim to be unacquainted with the wrong end of an NFL butt-kicking.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2021
He was regularly called a Renaissance man, and although he disliked the term, which he said was invariably used “by people unacquainted with the Renaissance,” it fit him well.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
Nurse Cramer was a good- hearted, sentimental creature who rejoiced unselfishly at news of -weddings, engagements, births and anniversaries even though she was unacquainted with any of the people involved.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
