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

• 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

Joanne even gets a Jewish childhood frenemy, Abby Kaplan (Brody’s real-life partner Leighton Meester), retconning some basic familiarity with the tribe for a woman who previously claimed not to know what Shabbat was. —Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025

His fashions stand on the edge of romanticism and realism, evoking a sense of familiarity and otherworldly at once. —Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025

There’s familiarity in the food, as well, delivered straight from the heart of chef-owner Dane Baldwin. —Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Murphy has familiarity with the Patriots’ head coach, originally signing with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2023 while Mike Vrabel was head coach. —Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 22 Oct. 2025

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