unaccustomed to
- idiom
- /ˌʌnəˈkʌstəmd tu/
- Having lived at sea level most of my life, I was unaccustomed to the thin mountain air.
- students unaccustomed to
Examples
-
Some of the younger demons were obviously unaccustomed to manual labor.
Fiction book (1991) -
What emerged was a portrait of a once proud and individualistic people, now almost ungovernable and unaccustomed to the restraints of urban civilization.
Academic text (1999) -
A soul unaccustomed to drugs would find them a natural refuge after listening to Mr. Young.
Blog text (1) -
"Excuse me," he said in the voice of one clearly unaccustomed to apologizing.
Fiction book (1997) -
The Tlingits are a reserved and private people, unaccustomed to asking or being asked questions.
Academic text (1990) -
Youth from affluent environments are often unaccustomed to the physical and psychological challenges of athletic participation.
Academic text (2004) -
Meanwhile, C.R. was still struggling through the descent check, obviously unaccustomed to right-seat duties.
Fiction book (2001) -
Bev, an East Coaster that she was, was unaccustomed to temblors.
Fiction book (2002) -
The negotiating sessions, consisting of speeches followed by caucuses, more speeches, and new proposals, were stressful to those unaccustomed to them.
Academic text (2001) -
Having lived at sea level most of my life, I was unaccustomed to the thin mountain air.
Synonyms
Not known or seen before
Not knowing much about something
Not used to something so it feels strange
People who do not know about a subject or activity
Not familiar with a thing or situation
Not familiar with someone or something
Not knowing about something because you have no experience with it
Not used to new conditions and so struggle to live or work there
Not familiar with a subject or its details
Not used to a new place or situation and finding it difficult to adjust
Antonyms
How Familiar
Surface Forms
Morphology
unaccustomed + to
The phrase is directly compositional: 'unaccustomed' means 'not accustomed' and the preposition 'to' marks the thing one is not used to, so the overall meaning 'not familiar with / not habituated to' can be derived from the parts. This negation + prepositional-complement pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Unaccustomed to comes from the idea of being not accustomed — not 'used' to something. Imagine a person from a warm country stepping into snow for the first time and feeling surprised; that image shows why it means 'not familiar with' or 'not used to' a situation.