adjective
-
not known or experienced; strange
-
not familiar
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unfamiliar
Explanation
Unfamiliar things are unknown or unexplored. On your first day at a new school, every single face you see is unfamiliar. Traveling in an unfamiliar city is easier with a map or a GPS, and meeting the unfamiliar people who live there is easier if you speak at least a few words of their language. Some people love eating unfamiliar food — things they've never tasted before — while others aren't fond of it. When something (or someone) is familiar, it's known to you — the word shares a Latin root with family. Add the "not" prefix un-, and you've got unfamiliar.
Vocabulary lists containing unfamiliar
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Strange
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Strange
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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.
He added that, stuck in an unfamiliar country, thousands of miles from home, where the main languages are French and Lingala and few people speak English or Spanish, there is just "nothing to do".
From BBC • May 22, 2026
But this concert is not meant to serve as an introduction for those unfamiliar with the original show.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
As a recently fledged bird hops around on the ground, unfamiliar choughs swoop down and gently herd it away to join them—that’s how desperate these birds are for helpers.
From Slate • May 10, 2026
Travel often combines unfamiliar surroundings with relaxing experiences.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
And yet it wasn’t the darkness, or the strange sounds, or the unfamiliar house that was keeping me up.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
