fa‧mil‧i‧ar 1 S3 W2 / fəmɪliə $ -ər / 形容词

1 someone or something that is familiar is well-known to you and easy to recognize :

a familiar tune

look/sound familiar

The voice on the phone sounded familiar.

familiar to

The signs of drug addiction are familiar to most doctors.

It was a relief to be back in familiar surroundings .

Beggars on the street are becoming a familiar sight .

This kind of situation was all too familiar (= very familiar ) to John.

Her face seems vaguely familiar , but I can’t quite place her.

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In everyday English, people often say that they know something rather than saying it is familiar : The name of the restaurant was not familiar to me. ➔ I didn’t know the name of the restaurant.

2 be familiar with something to have a good knowledge or understanding of something :

Are you familiar with this type of machine?

I’m not familiar with her poetry.

3 be on familiar terms with somebody to know someone well and be able to talk to them in an informal way :

He’s on familiar terms with all the teachers.

4 talking to someone as if you know them well although you do not

familiar with

I thought he was being a bit familiar with my wife.

5 informal and friendly in speech, writing etc :

The novel is written in an easy familiar style.

→ familiarly

THESAURUS

be familiar with something to have a good knowledge or understanding of something, because you have used it, read about it etc before : Before the interview, make sure you are familiar with the company’s main products. | It will take a little while to become familiar with the new software.

be used to something ( also be accustomed to something formal ) to have experienced something before, so that it no longer seems surprising, difficult, strange etc : I’m used to eating spicy food. | Jay found the job hard to begin with, but he soon got used to it. | Consumers have grown accustomed (= become accustomed ) to having a lot of choice. | Our staff are accustomed to dealing with the needs of foreign clients.

be at home with something to feel happy and confident about doing or using something, especially because you have had a lot of practice : Tom’s lived in Moscow for 20 years and he’s completely at home with the language. | It takes a few weeks for people to feel at home with the system.

be comfortable with something/somebody to feel relaxed and not worried about doing something or being with someone : We’re all becoming increasingly comfortable with buying things online. | The activities are intended to help new students feel more comfortable with each other..