Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

unfamiliar

/ˌʌnfəˈmɪli.ə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.62 in modern English

Syllables: un-fa-mil-iar
IPA: /ˌʌnfəˈmɪli.ə(ɹ)/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Strange, not familiar.

noun

An unfamiliar person; a stranger.

Example Sentences

"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."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English familiar English unfamiliar From un- + familiar.

Inflected Forms

more unfamiliar (comparative) most unfamiliar (superlative) unfamiliars (plural)

Derived Forms

unfamiliarly

Rhymes With

familiar

Questions

How do you pronounce unfamiliar?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌʌnfəˈmɪli.ə(ɹ)/.
What does unfamiliar mean?: Strange, not familiar.
Where does unfamiliar come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English familiar English unfamiliar From un- + familiar.

How to pronounce unfamiliar

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “unfamiliar”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌʌnfəˈmɪli.ə(ɹ)/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “unfamiliar”.
Repeat and practice — Say “unfamiliar” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.