familiarity

Language: en

🇺🇸 /fəˌmɪˈljɛrətiː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    Close acquaintance with or knowledge of something, gained through experience or study.; A state of being well known or commonly encountered; the quality of being recognizable.; Informal or overly intimate behavior that is considered inappropriate or presumptuous.; A close, intimate relationship or friendship between people.; The quality of being ordinary or unremarkable due to repeated exposure; lack of novelty.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable / uncountable Plural: familiarities

Collocations

familiarity withfamiliarity breeds contempta sense of familiaritya certain familiaritygrow in familiarity

Derivatives

familiarfamiliarlyfamiliarizefamiliarizationunfamiliarunfamiliarity

Synonyms

acquaintanceintimacyclosenessknowledgeawareness

Antonyms

unfamiliaritystrangenessnovelty

Commonly confused

familiarization
EN: 'Familiarity' is the state of being familiar with something; 'familiarization' is the process or act of making someone familiar with something.
intimacy
EN: 'Intimacy' implies a deeper, often emotional or physical closeness; 'familiarity' is broader and can refer simply to knowledge or recognition.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'familiarity' retains the 'i' before 'l' from 'familiar' — a common error is writing 'familarity' (dropping the 'i') or 'familliarity' (doubling the 'l').

💬 Examples

  1. Her familiarity with the subject made her an excellent teacher.

  2. The familiarity of the melody brought back childhood memories.

  3. He resented the familiarity with which the stranger addressed him by his first name.

  4. The familiarity between the two old friends was evident in their easy conversation.

  5. Familiarity breeds contempt, as the old saying goes.