1. made strange, unfamiliar, or unusual; presented in a way that removes habitual perception and forces fresh awareness
Usage: literary and artistic contexts; often used in criticism and theory

1. past tense and past participle of defamiliarize; to make something familiar seem strange or new by presenting it in an unexpected way
Usage: literary and artistic technique; derived from Russian Formalist concept of 'ostranenie'

Examples

• The artist defamiliarized everyday objects by placing them in surreal contexts.
• The film's unusual camera angles defamiliarized the ordinary street scene.
• Through defamiliarized language, the poet forced readers to reconsider common words.
• The director defamiliarized the domestic space by filming it from unexpected angles.
• Defamiliarized imagery in modern art challenges viewers to see the world anew.
• The author defamiliarized the familiar setting by describing it through an alien perspective.