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Glite Dictionary
unused to

unused to

3 4.2
Not familiar with a thing or situation
  • idiom
translation icon : no acostumbrado a
  • I was unused to the cold weather when I first moved to Canada.

They are free and they are completely unused to any kind of pressure, even if in their private lives.

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Examples

  • "Frank was unused to eating in restaurants at all.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • My daughter is small, young, and unused to half-tamed livestock.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • It's just that you have grown unused to people.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I'm unused to being asked so directly.

    The Duchess (2008)

  • The result was that I, unused to such behavior, jumped about three feet into the air.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • After a few weeks in Italy, one becomes unused to such behavior, even from strangers.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I was unused to male admiration and knew only that I wanted more.

    Mudbound (2017)

  • All pretty shocking for someone unused to fieldwork.

    Skyfall (2012)

  • Though she was obviously timid and unused to public places, she returned his look with perfect candor.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Luke, unused to the uneven footing of the dirt road, stares ahead at the ground.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

unfamiliar
vsunused to
104 4.4

Not known or seen before

focuses also on lack of habit or adjustment to circumstances
unfamiliar with
vsunused to
29 4.1

Not knowing much about something

adds idea of not being used to a situation as well
uninitiated
vsunused to
8 8.0

People who do not know about a subject or activity

is broader including general unfamiliarity beyond a single field
unaccustomed
vsunused to
7 5.3

Not used to something so it feels strange

covers unfamiliarity more generally not only rare experience
unaccustomed to
vsunused to
4 5.3

Not used to something because you have not done it often

includes both simple unfamiliarity and lack of habit
unacquainted
vsunused to
1 6.5

Not familiar with someone or something

stresses both not knowing and not being used to situations
unacquainted with
vsunused to
1 6.7

Not knowing about something because you have no experience with it

adds idea of lacking habitual adjustment to new situations
unhabituated
vsunused to
8.2

Not used to a new place or situation and finding it difficult to adjust

also refers to plain lack of familiarity beyond habit

Antonyms

familiar
476 2.8

Knowing a place or subject well from experience

How Familiar

well-informed
33 3.5
accustomed
5 3.4
familiar
476 2.8
unused to
3 4.2
unfamiliar
104 4.4

Surface Forms

unused to positive

Morphology

unused + to

The meaning 'not familiar with / not accustomed to' is a figurative/grammatical extension of the adjective 'unused' combined with the preposition 'to', so there is a partial compositional link to the constituents. However, 'unused' often has a literal sense ('not used' = idle) and learners may also be confused by the separate construction 'used to' (past habitual), so the specific adjectival meaning is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Unused to makes you imagine a new thing that has never been used, like a pair of shoes still unused with tags that feel strange when you walk, so the image is of something unfamiliar. So, if someone is unused to something, they are 'not familiar with' it and may feel uncomfortable at first.