How to Use familiar in a Sentence

familiar

1 of 2 noun
Definition of familiarnext
Synonyms for familiarnext
  • The new study suggests that brown rats were slower to spread around the globe than our other familiars, the black rat and the house mouse.
    — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2016
  • For Fringe familiars, there are a few changes for 2019, Bentley says.
    — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, 29 July 2019
  • In the books, Ambrose has snake familiars who do not get along with Salem, and also has a cute British accent.
    — Alexis Nedd, Cosmopolitan, 8 Jan. 2018
  • Toi GB took the microphone, started to sing in a familiar growled whisper, and the room erupted in cheers.
    — Jenn Harris, latimes.com, 25 May 2018
  • And while homemade is certainly the best, there are also some very good brands out there, from the old familiars to the newly invented.
    — Kathleen Purvis, charlotteobserver, 19 Dec. 2017
  • Such moments sum up the charm of Mardi Gras, when fact and fiction, reality and fantasy, alight among familiars and strangers alike.
    — The Masked Observer, AL.com, 26 Jan. 2018
  • According to demon lore, Paimon is a master of the arts and familiars (spirits that often manifest as animals) who will bless his followers with wealth.
    — Yohana Desta, HWD, 8 June 2018
  • The new study suggests that brown rats were slower to spread around the globe than our other familiars, the black rat and the house mouse.
    — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2016
  • For Fringe familiars, there are a few changes for 2019, Bentley says.
    — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, 29 July 2019
  • In the books, Ambrose has snake familiars who do not get along with Salem, and also has a cute British accent.
    — Alexis Nedd, Cosmopolitan, 8 Jan. 2018
  • Toi GB took the microphone, started to sing in a familiar growled whisper, and the room erupted in cheers.
    — Jenn Harris, latimes.com, 25 May 2018
  • And while homemade is certainly the best, there are also some very good brands out there, from the old familiars to the newly invented.
    — Kathleen Purvis, charlotteobserver, 19 Dec. 2017
  • Such moments sum up the charm of Mardi Gras, when fact and fiction, reality and fantasy, alight among familiars and strangers alike.
    — The Masked Observer, AL.com, 26 Jan. 2018
  • According to demon lore, Paimon is a master of the arts and familiars (spirits that often manifest as animals) who will bless his followers with wealth.
    — Yohana Desta, HWD, 8 June 2018
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familiar

2 of 2 adjective
  • She spoke in a familiar way about her past.
  • She has become a familiar figure in the world of politics.
  • They felt the waiter was being overly familiar.
  • The essay covers familiar ground.
  • Most vendors are new, though some of the crowd’s favorites turned out to be some of the most familiar.
    — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The story sticks close to the one that’s familiar both from the novel and from Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2023
  • Back then, the cups didn’t have the familiar Erewhon logo printed on them.
    — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2023
  • As the leaves start to change, the nights get colder, and the familiar scent of a wood-fire oven wafts down the street, there is another change in the air.
    — Emily Newhouse, Allure, 13 Oct. 2023
  • Inside the familiar shape there's a more spacious package, thanks to the wider body.
    — Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 28 July 2023
  • The other cocktails proved to be no more familiar to Kris.
    — Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 17 July 2023
  • The surge of support and drastic plummet is a familiar theme.
    — Ebony Flake, Essence, 4 Apr. 2024
  • None of us will forget the shadows of the giant thumbs and fingers flickering across the face of the familiar bright disk.
    — Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
  • And though every dish didn’t hit the mark, the flavors were warm and familiar, and the portions were generous.
    — Maggie Hennessy, Bon Appétit, 29 Sep. 2023
  • The track starts with DJ Khaled’s gleeful ad-libs before the familiar synth beat from the Usher classic kicks in.
    — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The story of the Miskito who have left their ancestral home to come 2,500 miles to the U.S.-Mexico border is in many ways familiar.
    — Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Those films that did succeed emphasized the fresh over the familiar.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 28 Dec. 2023
  • The outcome is a cake that's buttery and flavorful with both the familiar tastes of a yellow cake and a spiced pumpkin pie.
    — Micah A Leal, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2023
  • The hat is familiar, its drab gray material rendered in rows and rows of short, thin lines.
    — Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Other than the fact that contestants range in age from 60 to 75, the formula is familiar.
    — Mireille Silcoff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Thankfully, her clever pit bull mix was just looking for help in a familiar place.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
  • The stage lights went up, and out walked a familiar man: the rapper Offset, Cardi’s now-estranged husband.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2023
  • And the same could be said for the mechanicals, as there’s a lot of familiar hardware under that new sheet metal.
    — Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report, 18 Aug. 2023
  • But before the standards could be published, the group faced familiar pushback.
    — Annie Waldman, ProPublica, 12 Dec. 2023
  • The night before his test results were due back, Nick fell into a familiar routine.
    — Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 23 Dec. 2023
  • Her surroundings are familiar, the adobe ranch house in New Mexico where Sarah Hunt had raised her.
    — Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 12 Feb. 2024
  • And a rainy makeout scene between two characters in the third episode feels a bit too familiar to that steamy, soaking-wet scene Daphne and the Duke of Hastings share.
    — Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Clevinger allowed just one hit and one earned run while striking out 10 batters (sound familiar)?
    — Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Growing up together, the boys become as familiar as brothers despite the fact that one is meant to die for the other.
    — Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2023
  • For anyone who came of age in the late nineties and still recalls the moment in which grunge (fading) and pop-punk (ascendant) had a brief but potent sartorial collision, the look of the Guts tour, both onstage and off, will feel deeply familiar.
    — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
  • That pressure is familiar to Raymundo, who is also a worker leader for WeCount!.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'familiar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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