as in strange
not known or experienced before
ordered an unfamiliar wine and was surprised to find that it was much drier than what they were used to
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unfamiliar
Stephanie N. Del Tufo, The Conversation, 28 July 2025
But that’s also a lot of unfamiliar stuff, and audiences can need a little dose of the familiar to anchor them.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 26 July 2025
Her parents had been married for over 30 years, so navigating a situation like this was unfamiliar territory for the whole family.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, People.com, 26 July 2025
People unfamiliar with certain disasters — such as out-of-town visitors caught in the Hill Country flooding — may be at higher risk during emergencies.
—Bayliss Wagner, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfamiliar
Adjective
Research shows that listening can be harder than reading, especially when the material is complex or unfamiliar.
—Stephanie N. Del Tufo, The Conversation, 28 July 2025
But that’s also a lot of unfamiliar stuff, and audiences can need a little dose of the familiar to anchor them.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 26 July 2025
Her parents had been married for over 30 years, so navigating a situation like this was unfamiliar territory for the whole family.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, People.com, 26 July 2025
People unfamiliar with certain disasters — such as out-of-town visitors caught in the Hill Country flooding — may be at higher risk during emergencies.
—Bayliss Wagner, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfamiliar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfamiliar
Adjective
-
What begins as a strange ritual quickly unravels into a waking nightmare.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
14 Aug. 2025
-
At the campaign’s first big canvassing event in mid-December, primary field director Tascha Van Auken noticed something strange happening.—
Mark Chiusano,
Time,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This lack of education feeds ignorance and, in turn, complacency – allowing the flawed logic of deterrence to remain unchallenged.—
Masako Toki,
The Conversation,
4 Aug. 2025
-
It should be called the Know Nothings, a historical homage to anti-immigration and willful ignorance.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
The skid is a new season-long, surpassing two previous six-game losing streaks — all of which have come since the calendar turned to July.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Elio — Disney and Pixar Animation’s summer box office flop — will try to find a new audience when the film arrives on digital streaming this week.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Reuniting Wells with former ER collaborators R. Scott Gemmill and Noah Wyle, the HBO Max procedural launched unexpectedly into the zeitgeist with its January premiere — thanks in part to weekly drops (how novel!) that saw the audience quickly pass 10 million per episode.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Instead, Olsen predicted Democrats might pursue a novel legal theory: that the U.S. Constitution implicitly prohibits mid-decade redistricting unless a court has ordered it.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
According to OpenAI’s leaders, the model brings unprecedented powers of reasoning, brings vibe coding to a new level, is better than ever at agentic AI tasks, and comes with a raft of new safety features.—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The shift to hybrid and multicloud architectures has created unprecedented complexity.—
Chris McHenry,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Don’t forget that there’s more to the Core Collection than the two new styles and three fresh colorways.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Edelstein will direct the fresh take, which was commissioned by the Globe and adapted by veteran playwright and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson, whose long list of feature film credits includes Secretary, Men, Women & Children, The Girl on the Train, Chloe and Snow White.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This batch features the entire main cast of the original Star Trek series, from Capt. James T. Kirk, Spock and Uhura to Nurse and eventual-Chief Medical Officer Christine Chapel and Yeoman and eventual-Communications Officer Janice Rand.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Timo Tjahjanto took over directing duties from the original’s filmmaker Ilya Naishuller.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The extent of his wounds was unknown, and officers were working to identify a suspect.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
16 Aug. 2025
-
The mash bill is unknown but is believed to be 60%-75% corn, 20%-25% rye, with the balance of malted barley.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfamiliar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfamiliar. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share