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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective familiar contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of familiar are common, ordinary, plain, popular, and vulgar. While all these words mean "generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual," familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

When would common be a good substitute for familiar?

The words common and familiar can be used in similar contexts, but common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

a common error
lacked common honesty
common manners

Where would ordinary be a reasonable alternative to familiar?

The words ordinary and familiar are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day
a very ordinary sort of man

When could plain be used to replace familiar?

While the synonyms plain and familiar are close in meaning, plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

When is popular a more appropriate choice than familiar?

In some situations, the words popular and familiar are roughly equivalent. However, popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

How do vulgar and popular relate to one another, in the sense of familiar?

Vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of familiar
Adjective
And while some spots will look familiar (nobody should be shocked to see Florida on the list), others may be more surprising. Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025 Cleverly playing with taboo, Iglesias’s debut proves an insightful, captivating look into the darker corners of grief through the familiar lens of a coming-of-age narrative. Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
The town is populated with familiars: her brother, her best friend, a new lover, a new grandniece. Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 17 July 2023 Most recently, the actor played Count Dracula in this year's Renfield opposite Nicholas Hoult's titular familiar. Clark Collis, EW.com, 17 May 2023 See All Example Sentences for familiar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for familiar
Adjective
  • Royal expert and author Christopher Andersen said Princess Anne, who has been a close confidant and advisor to her brother Charles for a while, was likely involved in the decision.
    Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Let’s take a closer look at the best mowing height and timing to prepare your lawn for the cold ahead.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In addition to its informative aspects, the event offers numerous opportunities for networking, Manning added, allowing the attendees to become acquainted and refer business to each other.
    Janice Phelan, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Caron became acquainted with NESN’s people during the 1994-95 NHL lockout, during which the network covered a number of the Pirates’ games while the Bruins weren’t playing, including a playoff series involving the Pirates and the Providence Bruins.
    Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Future of eVTOLs In the longer term, Goldstein sees a future where eVTOLs are ubiquitous in the skies above American cities, flying in designated, but invisible, sky highways to ensure safety.
    James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
  • There’s the ubiquitous sloshing of bright red hurricanes in curvaceous cocktail glasses, the sizzling of beignets in fryers and the bubbling of boiling crawfish on stovetops.
    Matt Alderton, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.
    Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • One year later, Nashville's become her biggest fan.
    Hadley Hitson, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Fast and Free High-rise Tight 25-inch 5-pocket There’s simply no such thing as having too many pockets, as exhibited by these fan-favorite five-pocket leggings, which are currently $69.
    Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Instead of disclosing her condition to her employer and circles of friends, Sickler pulled back from modeling with little explanation, thinking that the absence of her hair would certainly result in the loss of her contract.
    Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Whenever family or friends came to visit, our first stop was always El's.
    Abby Price, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Eleven men and women died in intimate partner homicides in 2024, nearly double the number killed the previous year, according to the annual Fatality Review Report for Tarrant County.
    Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Through intimate interviews with players, coaches, parents, journalists and opponents, director Kevin Shaw probes media bias, racial stereotypes, community pride and the ethical complexities of youth sports—showing how a moment meant to celebrate young athletes became a lasting stigma.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • With the knowledge of genetic health risks, doctors can make informed decisions like screening patients for specific conditions that run in their family, Pagoto says.
    Renée Onque, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Its most passionate and informed teachers, current and former players say, usually aren’t assistant coaches in an NFL building but players.
    Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Familiar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/familiar. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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