familiarity

noun

Save Word

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

, -ˈ(y)a-rə-; -ˌmil-ˈyer-, -ˌmil-ˈya-rə- \

plural familiarities

Definition of familiarity

1a : the quality or state of being familiar

b : a state of close relationship : intimacy

2a : absence of ceremony : informality

b : an unduly informal act or expression : impropriety

c : a sexual liberty

3 : close acquaintance with something

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about familiarity

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Synonyms & Antonyms for familiarity

Synonyms

Antonyms

distance

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 Culture is tension, a never-ending push and pull between forces of change and the forbidding rubber-band snap of stasis, familiarity, and conservatism. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, "SOPHIE Transcended Everything," 1 Feb. 2021 The familiarity of these two franchises' front offices likely helped the difficult deal: New Detroit general manager Brad Holmes just left his job as the Rams' director of college scouting under general manager Les Snead earlier this month. — Greg Beacham, Star Tribune, "AP sources: Lions trade Stafford to LA for Goff, draft picks," 31 Jan. 2021 The board’s familiarity with K-12, and vice versa, and the fact that the previous search process went well led to the selection of K-12 for this search. — Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, "Chagrin Falls school board approves contract for superintendent search firm," 26 Jan. 2021 The baseball-esque structure of the schedule will likely accentuate the familiarity — and potential bad blood — between clubs. — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, "Five Kings-Ducks games in 12 days? NHL announces its pandemic-altered schedule," 23 Dec. 2020 Veteran financier Patricia Chadwick finds joy within the walls of a church — a familiarity that dates back to her childhood in Massachusetts, when her parents were members of a religious order, the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. — CBS News, "New memoir "Little Sister" explores growing up in a religious cult," 7 Nov. 2020 This approach — and Cerny’s close familiarity with the game development process — feeds back into the console design. — Washington Post, "A feel for the game," 2 Nov. 2020 Gibson said stress and a lack of familiarity with the process caused some workers to make errors on their applications. — Nyamekye Daniel, Washington Examiner, "North Carolina looks to recover more than $69M in unemployment overpayments," 27 Jan. 2021 Perhaps that feel is also transmitted by the familiarity here. — Ian Mcnulty, NOLA.com, "Born in bars, inspired by home, Budsi’s Authentic Thai opens a Marigny restaurant," 15 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'familiarity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.