familiarity

/fəmɪliˈæɹɪti/

//fəmɪliˈæɹɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"familiarity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“familiarity” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,135. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,135
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being extremely friendly; intimacy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-familiarity · familiarity · English

familiarity · rank #17,135 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,135
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH extravagant

Nearest frequency peer: extravagant (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “familiarity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “familiarity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

familiarity vs familiarize
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for familiarity
PropertyValue
Headwordfamiliarity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fəmɪliˈæɹɪti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#17,135
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “familiarity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).familiaritylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “extravagant” (#17,134), “Felipe” (#17,136), “fender” (#17,137). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “familiarity” is #17,135. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around familiarity (IPA /fəmɪliˈæɹɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,135 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for familiarity, with forms such as "afmiliarity", "faimliarity", and "famiilarity". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "familiarize", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French familiarité, from Latin familiāritātem. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþnes. Morphologically familiar + -ity. The correct English form is familiarity, spelled F-A-M-I-L-I-A-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being extremely friendly; intimacy.
  2. 2
    Undue intimacy; inappropriate informality, impertinence.
  3. 3
    An instance of familiar behaviour.
  4. 4
    Close or habitual acquaintance with someone or something; understanding or recognition acquired from experience.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how familiarity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It is also folly and injustice to deprive children[…]of their fathers familiaritie, and ever to shew them a surly, austere, grim, and disdainefull countenance, hoping thereby to keepe them in awfull feare and duteous obedience.
  2. Do not keep familiarity with any but those, with whom you may improve your time.

Etymology

From Middle French familiarité, from Latin familiāritātem. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþnes. Morphologically familiar + -ity.

This word in other languages

intimidad(Español)familiarité(Français)Vertrautheit(Deutsch)familiaridade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afmiliarity
  • faimliarity
  • famiilarity
  • familairity
  • familiairty
  • familiaritty
  • familiarityy
  • familiariyt
  • familiarrity
  • familiartiy
  • familiraity
  • familliarity
  • famliiarity
  • fammiliarity
  • ffamiliarity
  • fmailiarity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of familiarity - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afmiliarity2faimliarity2famiilarity2familairity2familiairty2familiaritty1familiarityy1familiariyt2
Edit distance from "familiarity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "familiarity"?
"familiarity" is spelled F-A-M-I-L-I-A-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /fəmɪliˈæɹɪti/.
What does "familiarity" mean?
As a noun, "familiarity" means: The state of being extremely friendly; intimacy.
What words are commonly confused with "familiarity"?
"familiarity" is commonly confused with "familiarize". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "familiarity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "familiarity" is /fəmɪliˈæɹɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "familiarity"?
From Middle French familiarité, from Latin familiāritātem. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþnes. Morphologically familiar + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "familiarity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

extravagant#17,134abandonment#17,065principally#17,215unpublished#17,052

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

windshield16 variantswhispering16 variantspractising16 variantsskepticism16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list