unfamiliar
adjective
un·fa·mil·iar ˌən-fə-ˈmil-yər 
: not familiar:
a
: not well-known : strange
an unfamiliar place
b
: not well acquainted
unfamiliar with the subject
unfamiliarity
ˌən-fə-ˌmil-ˈyer-ə-tē
noun -ˌmi-lē-ˈyer-
-ˈya-rə-
unfamiliarly
ˌən-fə-ˈmil-yər-lē
adverb 
Synonyms
- fresh
- new
- novel
- original
- strange
- unaccustomed
- unheard-of
- unknown
- unprecedented
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
He gets nervous when he is in unfamiliar surroundings. The book is full of unfamiliar words.
Recent Examples on the Web Nearly every on-air TV football team will have something new or unfamiliar about it. 
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022 That doesn’t mean Staley was unfamiliar with Michel. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022 Many live inland and are unfamiliar with tidal waters. Stephen Castle, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2022 The first time exhibiting at the Big E, the crew at Two Weeks Notice isn’t unfamiliar with the fair. Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2022 Considering that polio hasn’t been detected in the country since 1979, the millions of people born in the last 40 years are largely unfamiliar with the virus and its vaccine. Alexa Mikhail, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2022 Some gun control advocates warn spiking sales could mean more firearms are owned by inexperienced people who are unfamiliar with the risks. Joe Walsh, Forbes, 4 July 2022 Even for those visitors for whom the reference was unfamiliar, the work still packed a wallop. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 Chen is not unfamiliar with home improvement shows. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Aug. 2022 See More
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022 That doesn’t mean Staley was unfamiliar with Michel. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022 Many live inland and are unfamiliar with tidal waters. Stephen Castle, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2022 The first time exhibiting at the Big E, the crew at Two Weeks Notice isn’t unfamiliar with the fair. Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2022 Considering that polio hasn’t been detected in the country since 1979, the millions of people born in the last 40 years are largely unfamiliar with the virus and its vaccine. Alexa Mikhail, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2022 Some gun control advocates warn spiking sales could mean more firearms are owned by inexperienced people who are unfamiliar with the risks. Joe Walsh, Forbes, 4 July 2022 Even for those visitors for whom the reference was unfamiliar, the work still packed a wallop. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 Chen is not unfamiliar with home improvement shows. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1594, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing unfamiliar
Kids Definition
unfamiliar
adjective
un·fa·mil·iar ˌən-fə-ˈmil-yər
1
: not well-known : strange
an unfamiliar sight
2
: lacking good knowledge of something
I'm unfamiliar with this subject.
unfamiliarity
noun
as in ignorance
the state of being unaware or uninformed some intense studying rapidly remedied my unfamiliarity with the subject in time for the exam Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- ignorance
- unawareness
- cluelessness
- obliviousness
- inexperience
- benightedness
- innocence
- naïveté
- nescience
- incognizance
- unsophistication
- naivete
- naiveté
- callowness
- rawness
- greenness
- simpleness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- familiarity
- awareness
- acquaintance
- experience
- cognizance
- sophistication
- know-how
- terminable
- terminableness
- terminablenesses
- terminably
- terminal
- terminal arborization
- terminal board
- terminal company
- terminal cutting
- terminal figure
- terminal filament
- terminal juncture
- terminal leave
- terminal market
- terminal moraine
- terminal parenchyma
- terminal pedestal
- terminal reserve
- terminal sclereid
- terminal shoe
- terminal side
- terminal sinus
- terminal statue
- terminal switching
- terminal velocity