June 26, 2012 - Word of the Day

familiar

(fa mil year)

Use the adjective "familiar" when you see someone or a place that you've seen before, or you have an experience that seems as if it has happened before.

• You look very familiar. Have I met you before?
• This place seems familiar. Have we been here before?
• It was nice to take a vacation at a hotel that was familiar.
• Belinda and Bill saw many familiar faces at the conference.
• This road doesn't look familiar. I think we're lost.
• This song sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?

The opposite of "familiar" is "unfamiliar."

• This is an unfamiliar neighborhood.
• It's an unfamiliar feeling for Tom to be out of a job for so long.
• Renee feels uncomfortable working in an office because it's an unfamiliar setting.

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