unfamiliar

/ˈʌnfəˌmɪljər/

/ənfəˈmɪljə/

Other forms: unfamiliarly

Unfamiliar things are unknown or unexplored. On your first day at a new school, every single face you see is unfamiliar.

Traveling in an unfamiliar city is easier with a map or a GPS, and meeting the unfamiliar people who live there is easier if you speak at least a few words of their language. Some people love eating unfamiliar food — things they've never tasted before — while others aren't fond of it. When something (or someone) is familiar, it's known to you — the word shares a Latin root with family. Add the "not" prefix un-, and you've got unfamiliar.

Definitions of unfamiliar

1. adjective

   not known or well known
   “a name unfamiliar to most”

   “be alert at night especially in unfamiliar surroundings”

   synonyms:

   strange, unknown

   not known before

   unacquainted, unacquainted with, unfamiliar with

   having little or no knowledge of

   foreign, strange

   relating to or originating in or characteristic of another place or part of the world

   unknown

   not known

   antonyms:

   familiar

   well known or easily recognized

   acquainted

   having fair knowledge of

   beaten

   much trodden and worn smooth or bare

   long-familiar, well-known

   frequently experienced; known closely or intimately

   old

   (used for emphasis) very familiar

   known

   apprehended with certainty