intimate

adjective · verb · noun

Simple meaning

Closely acquainted; familiar.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

intuhmuht

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɪntəmət

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Closely acquainted; familiar.
Of or involved in a sexual relationship.
Personal; private.
Pertaining to details that require great familiarity to know
Very finely mixed.

verb

transitiveindia
To notify.

noun

in the plural intimates
Women's underwear, sleepwear, or lingerie, especially offered for sale in a store.
A very close friend.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency: Moderately Common
Typical Use: Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

More ways to use intimate

“He and his sister deeply valued their intimate relationship as they didn't have much else to live for.”adjective
“She enjoyed some intimate time alone with her husband.”adjective
“I will intimate you when the details are available.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Personal

intimate acquaintance

Involved

intimate relationship

Other combinations

intimate friendintimate knowledgeintimate contactintimate connectionintimate relationintimate terms

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

intimatelyadverbDerived adverb
In a close manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

intimate apparelnounCompound term
Women's underwear and nightclothes.
be intimateverbCompound term
Have sexual intercourse with.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: closely acquainted

familiarintimate with

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.