Familiar Meaning
/fəˈmɪl.i.ə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjKnown to one, or generally known; commonplace.
adjAcquainted.
Sentence Examples
All of you are familiar with the truth of the story.
We are familiar with the legend of Robin Hood.
The Empire State Building is a familiar landmark on the New York skyline.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scent of fresh bread was ____ and reminded her of home.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I have been here before, so the city feels very ____ and easy to navigate.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English familiar, familier, from Latin familiāris (“pertaining to servants; pertaining to the household”). By surface analysis, family + -ar. Piecewise doublet of familial. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþ.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
"Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field."
— 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
"Be thou familiar; but by no meanes vulgar:[…]"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 156, column 1:
"1822, Lord Byron, Werner
familiar feuds"
—
"The familiars of the magicians, on the other hand, were not in all cases evil, and often may have approximated the "guides" with whom present-day spiritualists are well acquainted."
— 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 75:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scent of fresh bread was ____ and reminded her of home.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I have been here before, so the city feels very ____ and easy to navigate.