adjective
-
not known or experienced; strange
-
not familiar
Other Word Forms
- unfamiliarity noun
- unfamiliarly adverb
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
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.
Applying for jobs in an unfamiliar city where they may not have friends or family may be daunting for many new grads.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
In recent years, a number of gray whales have been spotted feeding in unfamiliar areas, including the heavily trafficked waters of San Francisco Bay.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
The prosecutor and the trial judge were not unfamiliar names.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
I walked unfamiliar streets with music carrying me on its wings, ate dinner at 10 p.m. and remembered who I was when no one needed me to be anything in particular.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
The children thought it all a great game; by turns they pretended they were moles in dark tunnels, or explorers charting an unmapped jungle, or Postal Tygers delivering the mail along an unfamiliar route.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
