Standard Lemma guide

unfamiliarity

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: AH2 N F AH0 M IH2 L Y EH1 R AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Lack of familiarity; ignorance or inexperience.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Due to my unfamiliarity with the library's catalog system, it took several hours to find the book.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

unusualness as a consequence of not being well known

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: strangeness

Antonyms: familiarity

Broader terms: unusualness

Narrower terms: oddity, queerness, quirk, quirkiness, crotchet, eeriness, ghostliness, abnormality, freakishness, singularity, outlandishness, bizarreness, weirdness, quaintness, eccentricity

History

Etymology

From un- + familiarity.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Georgian: უჩვეულობა (učveuloba) — lack of familiarity
  • Greek: άγνοια (ágnoia) — lack of familiarity
  • Irish: aduaine — lack of familiarity
  • Latin: īnsolentia — lack of familiarity
  • Macedonian: непознатост (nepoznatost) — lack of familiarity
  • Manx: joarreeaght — lack of familiarity
  • Manx: neuainjys — lack of familiarity
  • Manx: anoayllys — lack of familiarity