1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. familiar

Find the word definition

What is "familiar"

Crossword clues for familiar

familiar
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
familiar
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a common/familiar dilemma (=one that a lot of people have)
▪ Deciding whether to put an elderly parent in a nursing home is a common dilemma.
a familiar complaint (=one that you have heard many times)
▪ A lack of good public transport is a familiar complaint.
a familiar landmark
▪ It was so dark we could not see any familiar landmarks.
a familiar routine
▪ Cats and dogs like a familiar routine.
a familiar sound
▪ Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of the key being turned in the front door.
familiar/home ground (=a subject etc that you know something about)
▪ In his latest book, McManus returns to more familiar ground.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
vaguely
▪ She began to feel vaguely familiar with the names of drinks and their prices.
▪ His voice, warm and slightly drunk, sounded vaguely familiar.
▪ Although the old Victorian building with its spine of hutted wards was a vaguely familiar place, it was by no means home.
▪ The voice on the other end of the line was vaguely familiar.
▪ The young man had seemed vaguely familiar.
▪ Her face was vaguely familiar, and Floyd suddenly became aware that the Administrator was looking at him with a quizzical smile.
▪ The other was of a man, plumpish and vaguely familiar.
■ NOUN
face
▪ He voiced their torment at knowing their children would be medically examined without consent and without any familiar face being present.
▪ He glanced at Rock Hardy, finding comfort in the familiar face. 5.03 already!
▪ It therefore seems that he ascribes this voice to a visually familiar face.
▪ It took D'Arcy a few seconds to connect the familiar face in the unfamiliar surroundings.
▪ He had shunned the opposition, reshuffled his government with familiar faces and retained the prime minister many wanted out.
▪ It's always nice to see a friendly familiar face.
▪ He turned the volume up as loud as it would go and stared at the familiar faces on the screen.
figure
▪ From the darkness between the semi-detached houses across the street came the familiar figure of Jack Stone.
▪ When he opened the door he saw a familiar figure in the street.
▪ A familiar figure got out of the bus and walked straight to the cab rank.
▪ No familiar figure validates human life in these photographs.
▪ This bluff businessman was a familiar figure to most of the small audience.
▪ The podium guest is a familiar figure, Libor Pesek, who bowed in the hall in 1992 and returned last season.
▪ He saw a familiar figure to his right.
▪ She couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from his familiar figure.
ground
▪ Certainly from the moment you land you realise that you are no longer on familiar ground.
▪ To me this was familiar ground.
▪ Here we may move, for the child, even further away from familiar ground.
▪ For an instant the familiar grounds glare and tremble, the prisoner rages at his bars.
▪ It was familiar ground too for Fonda and Hopper - who were already good friends.
▪ Work and health matters suffer in a return to familiar ground.
▪ Mr Ciampi will be on more familiar ground in his economic policies.
look
▪ A familiar look of disappointment crosses her face.
▪ He has a face people like, an oddly familiar look.
▪ It makes the familiar look sparklingly new.
▪ Life often has that familiar look in its eyes.
name
▪ Unexpected, it was like a surprise confrontation, and for a moment she could only stare blindly at the familiar name.
▪ Have him repeat the familiar name.
▪ He recognised familiar names and faces from all parties, and also noticed that everybody carried copies of his Dublin paper.
▪ One by one the familiar names and faces of the independence period were passing from the political picture.
▪ They include many familiar names such as the Halifax, the Woolwich and the Nationwide Anglia.
▪ The closest sorts of group are called keiretsu, and have familiar names like Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and so on.
▪ Below the breathing trees a thousand lost talents dream into dust; decay into largely familiar names for a stranger's bouquet.
▪ During the king's absence on his romantic mission, a bitterly familiar name was involved in strange moves against his person.
ring
▪ Just as the current crisis has a distinctly familiar ring to it, so too do the solutions being offered.
▪ These and other questions have a familiar ring because versions of these same questions are posted in various places on the walls.
▪ If such a three-pronged assault on the ailing Soviet economy has a familiar ring to it, that is hardly surprising.
▪ We pull out some coins and drop them on to the counter, where they make, no doubt, a familiar ring.
▪ Once a few have been mastered it is surprising how quickly the most ponderous sounding scientific name acquires a familiar ring.
▪ Some findings will have a familiar ring in the West.
▪ It is a puzzle with a familiar ring to it.
▪ But the build-up to it had a familiar ring about it for Dave.
sight
▪ They were local lave-net fisherman, a familiar sight in this part of the county.
▪ Ravage, because there was so much of it, became a familiar sight, almost comfortable.
▪ Home-Made Angels was inspired by the familiar sight of hot-air balloons in the skies above Bristol.
▪ It was already a familiar sight from the windows of the classroom block of the Entally Convent.
▪ His combination of business suits and cowboy boots quickly became a familiar sight in San Diego and Tijuana.
▪ Rose Hill, already a familiar sight around Milton Keynes, may soon be recognised worldwide.
▪ As you travel eastward the route joins the River Almond where dippers and herons are familiar sights.
sound
▪ They're a familiar sound - police, ambulance, fire engine; electronic donkeys braying.
▪ And as Gargy Patel reports, it's also provided one the city's most familiar sounds.
▪ It was a familiar sound to her.
▪ As the mail train thundered past and disappeared into the distance he heard the familiar sound of footsteps.
▪ Houses have weird silhouettes in the soft rain, noises come through open windows, television voices, familiar sound tracks.
▪ The familiar sounds brought Jehan to a sense of the place and the time.
▪ It had become a familiar sound over the last couple of days.
▪ Yet other problems arise from familiar sound, structures or words being used in unfamiliar combinations, or for unfamiliar purposes.
surroundings
▪ Now he was in the wilderness, separated from friend and foe alike and far from familiar surroundings.
▪ All children will tend to suffer from separation from their parents, siblings and familiar surroundings.
▪ He took in the familiar surroundings with a refreshed, amused eye.
▪ And you can have the course of vaccinations in the familiar surroundings of your general practitioner's surgery.
▪ The busy executive will walk here, though she would use her car for far shorter journeys in more familiar surroundings.
territory
▪ The social work was familiar territory.
▪ Camp Holloway at Pleiku was familiar territory.
▪ I was now in more familiar territory.
▪ Since Michelangelo was an ardent antiquarian, all this will have been familiar territory.
▪ They were travelling over familiar territory and life on the march had slipped into a routine.
▪ All this was familiar territory but as films became more ambitious so there emerged the possibility of fuller social statement.
▪ After a while, the cat gives up and returns to its familiar territory.
voice
▪ Belinda's eyes flew open at the sound of the familiar voice.
▪ He needed a familiar voice to calm him down.
▪ Sometimes when the wind rattles through the awning we imagine the traces of strong, familiar voices calling our names.
▪ But then I knew right away that it was a familiar voice, calling a familiar version of my name.
▪ Here was an old, familiar voice, the voice of youthful friendship.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
have a familiar ring
▪ Some findings will have a familiar ring in the West.
▪ The terrors which Mr Cash expresses about our future in the community have a familiar ring about them.
▪ These and other questions have a familiar ring because versions of these same questions are posted in various places on the walls.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Gibson's name is familiar -- what else did he write?
▪ He scanned the audience, searching for a familiar face.
▪ I don't like it when men I've just met are too familiar.
▪ It's nice to see a familiar face - I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone here.
▪ It was a relief to be back in the familiar surroundings of my hometown.
▪ It was good to be back in familiar surroundings.
▪ Kylie soon became a familiar figure at some of London's top fashion stores.
▪ Mimicking the President's familiar accent, DJ Rogers told his listeners that aliens had invaded.
▪ Robbie got that familiar goofy expression on his face as I told him the story.
▪ Sanders has an easy, familiar style of writing.
▪ She came up to me and started talking in such a familiar way that I thought I must have met her before.
▪ She was singing along to a tune on the radio that sounded vaguely familiar.
▪ That's a familiar tune - what is it?
▪ That girl looks familiar. I'm sure I've met her before.
▪ That morning she heard an old familiar voice on the kitchen radio.
▪ The first track on the album will be instantly familiar to Billie Holliday fans.
▪ The giant cross has become a familiar landmark to generations of San Franciscans.
▪ The local policeman is now a familiar figure in our school.
▪ The man seated at the next table looked faintly familiar.
▪ This kind of problem will be familiar to many married couples.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ By contrast, the memories of people my age are spookily familiar.
▪ By using and learning about the hardware and software, developing country professionals will become familiar with a variety of modern technologies.
▪ From the darkness between the semi-detached houses across the street came the familiar figure of Jack Stone.
▪ If customers' needs are to be recognized and met, designers and engineers must be familiar with sales and marketing.
▪ Its strange shape has become familiar to us.
▪ Not only will that skill help your re sume, it will make you familiar with on-line job recruiting.
▪ Those familiar with Vegetarian Times already know how accessible the recipes are.
II.noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Greenfly, whitefly, sawfly are his familiars.
▪ He was not the conventional stuff of which familiars were made, of course.
▪ Some will eventually feel the loneliness as passage, as the rending of the familiar that is part of coming of age.
▪ Virtually every adult man, and a few older women, possess familiars.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Familiar

Familiar \Fa*mil"iar\, n.

  1. An intimate; a companion.

    All my familiars watched for my halting.
    --Jer. xx. 10.

  2. An attendant demon or evil spirit.
    --Shak.

  3. (Court of Inquisition) A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.

Familiar

Familiar \Fa*mil`iar\, a. [OE. familer, familier, F. familier, fr. L. familiaris, fr. familia family. See Family.]

  1. Of or pertaining to a family; domestic. ``Familiar feuds.''
    --Byron.

    Syn: familial.

  2. Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures.

  3. Characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible. ``In loose, familiar strains.''
    --Addison.

    Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
    --Shak.

  4. Well known; well understood; common; frequent; as, a familiar illustration.

    That war, or peace, or both at once, may be As things acquainted and familiar to us.
    --Shak.

    There is nothing more familiar than this.
    --Locke.

  5. Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate.
    --Camden.

    Familiar spirit, a demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at call.
    --1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 7-9.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
familiar

mid-14c., "intimate, very friendly, on a family footing," from Old French famelier "related; friendly," from Latin familiaris "domestic, private, belonging to a family, of a household;" also "familiar, intimate, friendly," dissimilated from *familialis, from familia (see family). From late 14c. as "of or pertaining to one's family." Of things, "known from long association," from late 15c. Meaning "ordinary, usual" is from 1590s.\n

\nThe noun meaning "demon, evil spirit that answers one's call" is from 1580s (familiar spirit is attested from 1560s); earlier as a noun it meant "a familiar friend" (late 14c.). The Latin plural, used as a noun, meant "the slaves," also "a friend, intimate acquaintance, companion."

Wiktionary
familiar

a. know to one. n. 1 (context obsolete English) A member of one's family or household. 2 (context obsolete English) A close friend. 3 An attendant spirit, often in animal form.

WordNet
familiar

  1. adj. well known or easily recognized; "a familiar figure"; "familiar songs"; "familiar guests" [ant: unfamiliar]

  2. within normal everyday experience; common and ordinary; not strange; "familiar ordinary objects found in every home"; "a familiar everyday scene"; "a familiar excuse"; "a day like any other filled with familiar duties and experiences" [ant: strange]

  3. (usually followed by `with') well informed about or knowing thoroughly; "conversant with business trends"; "familiar with the complex machinery"; "he was familiar with those roads" [syn: conversant(p), familiar(p)]

  4. having mutual interests or affections; of established friendship; "on familiar terms"; "pretending she is on an intimate footing with those she slanders" [syn: intimate]

familiar

  1. n. a person attached to the household of a high official (as a pope or bishop) who renders service in return for support

  2. a person who is frequently in the company of another; "drinking companions"; "comrades in arms" [syn: companion, comrade, fellow, associate]

  3. a spirit (usually in animal form) that acts as an assistant to a witch or wizard [syn: familiar spirit]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Familiar (disambiguation)

A familiar is a supernatural entity believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic.

Familiar may refer to:

  • Familiar (Dungeons & Dragons), fictional creature in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game
  • Familiars (album), 2014 album by The Antlers
  • Familiar Linux, Linux distribution for iPAQ machines and other PDAs
  • T–V distinction, contrast between second-person pronouns that are specialized for varying levels of familiarity
  • The Familiar (film), 2009 film
  • The Familiar (Animorphs), 41st book in the Animorphs series
  • The Familiars (novel), a series of children's fantasy books
  • The Familiars (film), a forthcoming film
  • The Familiar, a planned 27-volume story by Mark Z. Danielewski
Familiar (Dungeons & Dragons)

A familiar is a fictional creature in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. A familiar is based on the concept of the familiar spirit or familiar animal, and serves spellcasting characters as a magical companion and servant.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "familiar".

The daylight trees of July are signs of common beauty, common freshness, and a mystery familiar and abiding as night and day.

Commands aboard the Andromache were so familiar that they could be issued in a whisper.

In fact, the opening was depressingly familiar, full of protestations of loyalty to both King George and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, plus a promise that the authors would willingly fight the French, indeed die for their country, but they could not face another day aboard such a hellish ship.

So they abode a little, and the more part of what talk there was came from the Lady, and she was chiefly asking Ralph of his home in Upmeads, and his brethren and kindred, and he told her all openly, and hid naught, while her voice ravished his very soul from him, and it seemed strange to him, that such an one should hold him in talk concerning these simple matters and familiar haps, and look on him so kindly and simply.

Late-night cafes inNew Yorkwere apparently so familiar with this procedure that waiters and other diners would smile indulgently at Benzedrine abusers when they picked up the smell of menthol across the room.

AUTHORIZED PERSONS ONLY, into the exhibit laboratory, a reassuringly familiar place with its display cases and smells of shellac and camphor, acetone and ethyl alcohol.

Coherence was achieved because the men who created the system all used the same, ever-growing body of textbooks, and they were all familiar with similar routines of lectures, debates and academic exercises and shared a belief that Christianity was capable of a systematic and authoritative presentation.

He proved to be a tremendously competent and affable man of about fifty, admirably well-read, and deeply familiar with all the conditions of Australian travel.

Even the succulent blue lilies--a variety of the agapanthus which is so familiar to us in English greenhouses--hung their long trumpet-shaped flowers and looked oppressed and miserable, beneath the burning breath of the hot wind which had been blowing for hours like the draught from a volcano.

Even in the city, they sang in the ailanthus trees, haunting and familiar.

A familiar cackle came from the rock and the alchemist stepped out of it.

This was familiar territory to Alec, and he felt a twinge of sadness as he looked around.

Seregil inhaled the familiar morning smells of the tower as he and Alec headed up to the workroom the next morning- the mingled incense of parchment, candle smoke, and herbs overlaid with the more immediate aromas of breakfast.

A pale face appeared at the bars and Alec experienced a familiar sense of incongruity.

Because he was German, he was familiar with the work of Wohler and Niemann atGottingenand knew all about their escapades in alkaloid isolation.