| / English Dictionary |
INTIMATE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Someone to whom private matters are confided
Synonyms:
confidant; intimate
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("intimate" is a kind of...):
friend (a person you know well and regard with affection and trust)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "intimate"):
confidante (a female confidant)
repository; secretary (a person to whom a secret is entrusted)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having mutual interests or affections; of established friendship
Example:
pretending she is on an intimate footing with those she slanders
Synonyms:
familiar; intimate
Classified under:
Similar:
close (close in relevance or relationship)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity
Example:
intimate relations between economics, politics, and legal principles
Classified under:
Similar:
close (close in relevance or relationship)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Thoroughly acquainted through study or experience
Example:
knowledgeable about the technique of painting
Synonyms:
intimate; knowledgeable; versed
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
experienced; experient (having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Having or fostering a warm or friendly and informal atmosphere
Example:
the small room was cozy and intimate
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
friendly (characteristic of or befitting a friend)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Innermost or essential
Example:
the intimate structure of matter
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intrinsic; intrinsical (belonging to a thing by its very nature)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Concerning things deeply private and personal
Example:
private family matters
Synonyms:
intimate; private
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
personal (concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Involved in a sexual relationship
Example:
she had been intimate with many men
Synonyms:
intimate; sexual
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
sexy (marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Used euphemistically to refer to the genitals
Example:
he touched her intimate parts
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
sexual (having or involving sex)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they intimate ... he / she / it intimates
Past simple: intimated
Past participle: intimated
-ing form: intimating
Sense 1
Meaning:
Give to understand
Example:
I insinuated that I did not like his wife
Synonyms:
adumbrate; insinuate; intimate
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "intimate" is one way to...):
hint; suggest (drop a hint; intimate by a hint)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sentence example:
They intimate that there was a traffic accident
Derivation:
intimation (a slight suggestion or vague understanding)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Imply as a possibility
Example:
The evidence suggests a need for more clarification
Synonyms:
intimate; suggest
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "intimate" is one way to...):
imply (suggest as a logically necessary consequence; in logic)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "intimate"):
make out (imply or suggest)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
intimation (a slight suggestion or vague understanding)
intimation (an indirect suggestion)
Context examples:
But as brother and sister often entertain a lively affection towards each other without desiring a more intimate union, may not such also be our case?
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
At the first breath of suspicion you, my intimate friend, the man who knew me best, set me down as a thief and a murderer.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The two friends chatted in intimate converse for a few minutes, recalling once again the days of the past, while their prisoner vainly wriggled to undo the bonds that held him.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He had been on intimate terms with the leading politicians of several countries.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I heard her words with a responsive thrill, it was all so dearly intimate and natural, and I said: It seems as though I have lived this life always.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mrs. Palmer and two elderly ladies of Mrs. Jennings's intimate acquaintance, whom she had met and invited in the morning, dined with them.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
It is very unfair to judge of any body's conduct, without an intimate knowledge of their situation.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
He had merely intimated his displeasure, in his pride believing that to intimate was to command.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Sallie says they are very intimate now, and the old man quite dotes on them.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
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