adjective
-
not known or experienced; strange
-
not familiar
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
The 24-year-old was unable to challenge in the unfamiliar distance, finishing in 51.14 seconds, while compatriot Amber Anning finished in fifth in 50.19.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
These tests examine behaviors such as willingness to explore open spaces and interest in unfamiliar mice.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Over the course of five centuries, this Jewish fable’s relationship to Jews and Judaism has evolved in unfamiliar and unexpected ways.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
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
Would they have to walk the unfamiliar roads and knock on strangers’ houses to beg for food?
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
