Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use unfamiliar in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun

Unfamiliar means strange, not familiar. Example: “It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom.”

Examples of unfamiliar by meaning

adjectiveStrange, not familiar.

  • United were second-best for long periods as they struggled to adapt to an unfamiliar line-up and were ultimately fortunate to leave Merseyside with their unbeaten league run still intact.2011 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport

More sentences with unfamiliar

  • It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom.From the entry case
  • I was mostly unfamiliar with the nautical terms used in the sailing documentary.From the entry nautical
  • Sleeping in an unfamiliar room can be a trigger for sleepwalking.From the entry trigger
  • It's worth keeping a dictionary around in case you come across an unfamiliar word.From the entry keep around
  • All unfamiliar names have been transcribed in phonetic spelling.From the entry phonetic
  • The soldiers exposed themselves by moving into unfamiliar territory.From the entry expose oneself
  • He speaks Brabantian with his schoolmates, and Belgian Standard Dutch in the classroom and with unfamiliar teachers in the playground, a classic example of diglossia.From the entry Brabantian
  • The uncanniness provoked by doppelgangers is particularly acute because the thing that becomes unfamiliar is you.2023, Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN. From the entry doppelganger
  • Until around the age of 11, children are generally happy to engage with unfamiliar music.2023 February 20, Timothy McKenry, “Why do we stop exploring new music as we get older?”, in The Conversation, archived from the original…. From the entry open-earedness
  • Using the still unfamiliar term, she declared that the nation was now entering a new “Carolean age”.2022 September 9, Caroline Davies, quoting Liz Truss, “Charles to be proclaimed King at St James’s Palace on Saturday”, in The Guardian…. From the entry Carolean
  • A brief summary of the relevant mechanics and speedrun strategies follows for the unfamiliar reader.2020 December 15 [2020 December 11], Minecraft Speedrunning Team, “Dream Investigation Results”, in (Please provide the book title or…. From the entry speedrun
  • Trump has slammed Vindman as a “Never Trumper” who he was unfamiliar with.2019 November 18, Aamer Madhani, quoting Donald Trump, “NSC aide Vindman ready to speak out publicly on Trump”, in AP News. From the entry Never Trumper
  • Three more beside him, all wearing the unfamiliar blue serge of the Queensland Police Force.2018, Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip, University of Queensland Press, published 2023, page 1. From the entry gunjie
  • I'm far from home, labyrinthing through unfamiliar alleys, before I find the right house.2017, Mahvesh Murad, Jared Shurin, Neil Gaiman, The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories. From the entry labyrinth
  • The alley ended out a street that was unfamiliar to him.2017, Jack Mackenzie, Time Like Broken Glass, page 170. From the entry end out
  • Unfamiliar heads popped in and out, sometimes with some excuse to check on us, sometimes without.2015, Joshua Gamson, “My New Kentucky Baby”, in Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary Journeys to Kinship, New York, N.Y.; London: New…. From the entry homocurious
  • Just because you see an unfamiliar term doesn’t mean that it’s part of the Twitter vernacular.2015, Laura Fitton, Anum Hussain, Brittany Leaning, with Michael E. Gruen and Leslie Poston, “Language and abbreviations”, in Twitter For…. From the entry Twitterspeak
  • You'll probably see unfamiliar acronyms such as Walt (We Are Learning To).2014 September 23, “Choosing a Primary School: A Teacher's Guide for Parents”, in The Guardian. From the entry acronym
  • Unfamiliar words abound, including many intriguing professional roles --ippers, woadmongers, cordwainers--and objects--perukes, frislets (small ruffles) and spangles.2012 May 11, Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, “Woadmongers and frislets.”, in TLS. Times Literary Supplement, number 5693, London, England: NI…. From the entry frislet
  • She called the sound fat, rich and buttery, and unfamiliar from prerenovation days.2009 January 29, Daniel J. Wakin, “Musicians Hear Heaven in Tully Hall’s New Sound”, in New York Times. From the entry prerenovation
  • She had spent very little time in the library and was unfamiliar with the booklined shelves.2009, Sarah Mallory, The Wicked Baron. From the entry booklined
  • Children and adults tend to use this hunt-and-peck method when they encounter an unfamiliar keypad.2003, Janet E. Davidson, Robert J. Sternberg, editors, The Psychology of Problem Solving, Cambridge University Press, page 68. From the entry hunt-and-peck
  • Austin,' Lestrade said, 'but we are as yet unfamiliar with the toxology of the churchyard.2000, M.J. Trow, Lestrade and the Sign of Nine, →ISBN, page 29. From the entry toxology
  • If you are trying a case in an unfamiliar jurisdiction, arrive a few days early.1999, John G Koeltl, John S Kiernan, The Litigation Manual, page 163. From the entry Joe's Diner
  • Many consumers are still unfamiliar with hedgehogs, and they have a relatively small commercial trade.1998, Randy Molina, David Pilz, Managing Forest Ecosystems to Conserve Fungus Diversity and Sustain Wild Mushroom Harvests. From the entry hedgehog
  • “The name is not unfamiliar,” Chance said, “but . . .” He shook his head.1998, Harlan Coben, One False Move (Myron Bolitar series), Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 105. From the entry politicianese
  • Of course, some people simply are too timid to go to unfamiliar places.1997, Phillip C[raig] Schlechty, “[Leading the Change Process] Stay-at-Homes”, in Inventing Better Schools: An Action Plan for Educational…. From the entry stay-at-home
  • In this research we investigated perception of traversability in infants making independent trips in an unfamiliar environment.1994, E. J. Gibson, G. Riccio, M. A. Schmuckler, T. A. Stoffregen, D. Rosenberg, J. Taormina, “Detection of the traversability of surfaces…. From the entry traversability
  • The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.a. 1983, Paul Fix (attributed quote). From the entry thought
  • POPULAR versions in prose of Homer's epic “The Odyssey” are not unfamiliar to youthful readers.1961 April 16, Horace Gregory, “A Noble Homer Who Almost Never Nods; […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times…. From the entry The Odyssey
  • Do you take me for a hippiater or are you unfamiliar with medical deontology?1905, American Medicine, volume 10, Clinical Notes and Correspondence: A Medical Medley. From the entry hippiater
  • Hungry and lonely, walking unfamiliar D.C. streets on a Wednesday afternoon in January, Sanai Graden fired up her TikTok account.2024 March 12, Kyle Swenson, Amber Ferguson, “A TikToker raised $400K for an 'unhoused man. Then things got messy.”, in The Washington…. From the entry Graden
  • Prime Minister Johnson adopted an unfamiliar tone of seriousness.2023, Adam Tooze, Shutdown How COVID Shook The World's Economy, Penguin Books, page 81. From the entry braggadocio
  • If you’re unfamiliar with FatTok then, welcome.2023 October 8, Holly Richards, “16 Plus-Sized Creators Who Are Making TikTok A More Inclusive Space”, in Refinery29. From the entry FatTok
  • For those unfamiliar, that is an acronym for No Outs, Bases Loaded, Ending with Team Incapable of Getting Easy Run.2023 May 4, Benjamin Jones, “White Sox 6, Twins 4: A Good Old Fashioned NOBLETIGER”, in Twinkie Town, archived from the original on 04 May…. From the entry NOBLETIGER
  • Don't worry if the word "zythological" is unfamiliar, though.2015 September 15, Adam Littman, “Longtime friends brew up business at Fortside: Prairie High School grads to hold grand opening for…. From the entry zythology
  • For those unfamiliar with fanfiction, it means self-insertion and fantasy fulfillment through the woobification of a main character.2014 January 27, Shannon Wang, “Techer^([sic]) reflects on motivation of Tumblr users”, in The California Tech, California Institute of…. From the entry woobification
  • Since you are working on a target mode of giving—an unfamiliar or a hard mode—you will find this formula especially useful.2009, Willa Miller, “Day Six: The Five Steps of Giving”, in Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You, Wheaton, Ill.…. From the entry hard mode
  • Edna's language was peppered with the unfamiliar.2007, Arthur C. Clarke with Stephen Baxter, Firstborn [A Time Odyssey; 3], New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books; Ballantine Books, →ISBN. From the entry spinward

Meaning of unfamiliar

  1. adjective Strange, not familiar.
  2. noun An unfamiliar person; a stranger.

Full definition of unfamiliar

Questions about unfamiliar in a sentence

How do you use unfamiliar in a sentence?
Unfamiliar is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom.”
What is a short sentence with unfamiliar?
“Edna's language was peppered with the unfamiliar.”
What does unfamiliar mean?
Unfamiliar means strange, not familiar.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: unfamiliar (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use unfamiliar in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/unfamiliar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.