- well known to you; often seen or heard and therefore easy to recognize
- to look/sound/seem familiar
- I couldn’t see any familiar faces in the room.
- He's a familiar figure in the neighbourhood.
- Then she heard a familiar voice.
- The cast contains a number of familiar names.
- The song was vaguely familiar.
- familiar to somebody The smell is very familiar to everyone who lives near a bakery.
- Violent attacks are becoming all too familiar (= sadly familiar).
Extra Examples- Her face looked strangely familiar.
- His face looked awfully familiar.
- His face was instantly familiar, even after all those years.
- The name sounded vaguely familiar to her.
- The place felt faintly familiar to me.
- The report's conclusions were already familiar enough to the government.
- The room looked distinctly familiar.
- a name that was somehow familiar
- a situation which has become all too familiar to most teachers
- The company's brand has become a familiar sight.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
- familiar with something knowing something very well
- an area with which I had been familiar since childhood
- You will soon become familiar with the different activities.
- Are you familiar with the computer software they use?
- She would have been familiar with the work of this 18th-century German philosopher.
- Ishii is clearly intimately familiar with his script and characters.
Extra Examples- You will need to be thoroughly familiar with our procedures.
- I'm not overly familiar with these issues.
- I was now getting much more familiar with the local area.
- By now you will be familiar with the one-way system in the centre of town.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- become
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- (of a person’s behaviour) very informal, sometimes in a way that is unpleasant
- You seem to be on very familiar terms with your tutor.
- After a few drinks her boss started getting too familiar for her liking.
- familiar with somebody He was being overly familiar with Gloria.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘intimate’, ‘on a family footing’): from Old French familier, from Latin familiaris, from familia ‘household servants, family’, from famulus ‘servant’.
Check pronunciation:
familiar