familiarity

noun

fa·​mil·​iar·​i·​ty fə-ˌmi-lē-ˈ(y)er-ə-tē 

-ˈ(y)a-rə-;

-ˌmil-ˈyer-, 

-ˌmil-ˈya-rə-

plural familiarities

1

a

: the quality or state of being familiar

b

: a state of close relationship : intimacy

2

a

: absence of ceremony : informality

b

: an unduly informal act or expression : impropriety

c

: a sexual liberty

3

: close acquaintance with something

Synonyms of familiarity

• intimacy
• belonging
• kinship

Examples of familiarity in a Sentence

He spoke to everyone with the easy familiarity of an old friend.

the elderly couple enjoys a familiarity that is the result of many years of happy marriage

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s apparently a generation coming up with the same kind of familiarity with touch interfaces, so this feature may appeal to them. — ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026

Giving teams the tools to customize or create their own agents can turn early familiarity into organization-wide use. — Steve Cangiano, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Among those who had at least some familiarity, few understood the difference between its natural leaf form and more synthetic products. — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 6 Nov. 2026

But Wash’s familiarity with the players has seemed to resonate with them, players said. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for familiarity

• angularity
• bipolarity
• capillarity
• cellularity
• circularity
• granularity
• insincerity
• insularity
• modularity
• osmolarity
• popularity
• regularity

Kids Definition

familiarity

noun

fa·​mil·​iar·​i·​ty fə-ˌmil-ˈyar-ət-ē 

-ˌmil-ē-ˈar-

plural familiarities

1

: close friendship : intimacy

2

: lack of formality : freedom and ease in personal relations

3

: close acquaintance with or knowledge of something

4

: an overly bold act or expression