Adjacent Words

Intimate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IN'TIMATE,a. [L. intimus, superl. of intus, or interus, within.]
1. Inmost; inward; internal; as intimate impulse.
2. Near; close.
He was honored with an intimate and immediate admission.
3. Close in friendship or acquaintance; familiar; as an intimate friend; intimate acquaintance.
IN'TIMATE, n. A familiar friend or associate; one to whom the thoughts of another are entrusted without reserve.
IN'TIMATE, v.i. To share together. [Not in use.]
IN'TIMATE, v.t. [Low L. intimo, to intimate, to register, to love entirely, to make one intimate, to enter, from intimus.]
To hint; to suggest obscurely, indirectly or not very plainly; to give slight notice of. He intimated his intention of resigning his office.
'Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity; "intimate friend"; "intimate relations between economics, politics, and legal principles" - V.L. Parrington
2: having or fostering a warm or friendly and informal atmosphere; "had a cozy chat"; "a relaxed informal manner"; "an intimate cocktail lounge"; "the small room was cozy and intimate" [syn: cozy, intimate, informal]
3: having mutual interests or affections; of established friendship; "on familiar terms"; "pretending she is on an intimate footing with those she slanders" [syn: familiar, intimate]
4: involved in a sexual relationship; "the intimate (or sexual) relations between husband and wife"; "she had been intimate with many men"; "he touched her intimate parts" [syn: intimate, sexual]
5: innermost or essential; "the inner logic of Cubism"; "the internal contradictions of the theory"; "the intimate structure of matter" [syn: inner, internal, intimate]
6: thoroughly acquainted through study or experience; "this girl, so intimate with nature"-W.H.Hudson; "knowledgeable about the technique of painting"- Herbert Read [syn: intimate, knowledgeable, versed] n
1: someone to whom private matters are confided [syn: confidant, intimate] v
1: give to understand; "I insinuated that I did not like his wife" [syn: intimate, adumbrate, insinuate]
2: imply as a possibility; "The evidence suggests a need for more clarification" [syn: suggest, intimate]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (-mated; -mating) Etymology: Late Latin intimatus, past participle of intimare to put in, announce, from Latin intimus innermost, superlative of Old Latin *interus inward — more at interior Date: 1522 1. to make known especially publicly or formally ; announce 2. to communicate delicately and indirectly ; hint Synonyms: see suggest • intimater noun • intimation noun II. adjective Etymology: alteration of obsolete intime, from Latin intimus Date: 1632 1. a. intrinsic, essential b. belonging to or characterizing one's deepest nature 2. marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity <intimate knowledge of the law> 3. a. marked by a warm friendship developing through long association <intimate friends> b. suggesting informal warmth or privacy <intimate clubs> 4. of a very personal or private nature <intimate secrets> • intimately adverb • intimateness noun III. noun Date: 1659 an intimate friend or confidant

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj. & n. --adj. 1 closely acquainted; familiar, close (an intimate friend; an intimate relationship). 2 private and personal (intimate thoughts). 3 (usu. foll. by with) having sexual relations. 4 (of knowledge) detailed, thorough. 5 (of a relationship between things) close. 6 (of mixing etc.) thorough. 7 essential, intrinsic. 8 (of a place etc.) friendly; promoting close personal relationships. --n. a very close friend. Derivatives: intimately adv. Etymology: L intimus inmost 2. v.tr. 1 (often foll. by that + clause) state or make known. 2 imply, hint. Derivatives: intimater n. intimation n. Etymology: LL intimare announce f. L intimus inmost

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Intimate In"ti*mate, a. [Formerly intime, L. intimus, a superl. corresponding to the compar. interior: cf. F. intime. The form intimate is due to confusion with intimate, v. t. See Interior.] 1. Innermost; inward; internal; deep-seated; hearty. ``I knew from intimate impulse.'' --Milton. 2. Near; close; direct; thorough; complete. He was honored with an intimate and immediate admission. --South. 3. Close in friendship or acquaintance; familiar; confidential; as, an intimate friend. Syn: Familiar; near; friendly; confidential.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Intimate In"ti*mate, n. An intimate friend or associate; a confidant. --Gov. of the Tongue.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Intimate In"ti*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Intimated; p. pr. & vb. n. Intimating.] [L. intimatus, p. p. of intimare to put, bring, drive, or press into, to announce, make known, from intimus the inmost. See Intimate, a.] 1. To announce; to declare; to publish; to communicate; to make known. [Obs.] He, incontinent, did proclaim and intimate open war. --E. Hall. So both conspiring 'gan to intimate Each other's grief. --Spenser. 2. To suggest obscurely or indirectly; to refer to remotely; to give slight notice of; to hint; as, he intimated his intention of resigning his office. The names of simple ideas and substances, with the abstract ideas in the mind, intimate some real existence, from which was derived their original pattern. --Locke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(intimating, intimated) 1. If you have an intimate friendship with someone, you know them very well and like them a lot. I discussed with my intimate friends whether I would immediately have a baby. ADJ: usu ADJ n • intimately He did not feel he had got to know them intimately. ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed 2. If two people are in an intimate relationship, they are involved with each other in a loving or sexual way. ...their intimate moments with their boyfriends. ADJ: usu ADJ n • intimately You have to be willing to get to know yourself and your partner intimately. ADV: ADV after v 3. An intimate conversation or detail, for example, is very personal and private. He wrote about the intimate details of his family life... = private ADJ: usu ADJ n • intimately It was the first time they had attempted to talk intimately. ADV: ADV after v 4. If you use intimate to describe an occasion or the atmosphere of a place, you like it because it is quiet and pleasant, and seems suitable for close conversations between friends. ...an intimate candlelit dinner for two. ADJ: usu ADJ n [approval] 5. An intimate connection between ideas or organizations, for example, is a very strong link between them. ...an intimate connection between madness and wisdom... ADJ: usu ADJ n • intimately Property and equities are intimately connected in Hong Kong. ADV: ADV after v 6. An intimate knowledge of something is a deep and detailed knowledge of it. He surprised me with his intimate knowledge of Kierkegaard and Schopenhauer. = thorough ADJ: usu ADJ n • intimately ...a golden age of musicians whose work she knew intimately. ADV: usu ADV after v 7. If you intimate something, you say it in an indirect way. (FORMAL) He went on to intimate that he was indeed contemplating a shake-up of the company... He had intimated to the French and Russians his readiness to come to a settlement. = hint VERB: V that, V to n n, also V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Near, close. 2. Familiar, friendly, hand and glove, hail fellow well met. 3. Familiar, close, bosom, very dear, confidential. 4. Inward, internal, interior, from within. II. n. Confidant, crony, familiar friend, intimate acquaintance, bosom friend. III. v. a. Suggest, hint, insinuate, allude to, make allusion to, give an inkling of, glance at, remind of, put in mind of.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute, acquaintance, acquainted with, adumbrate, advocate, affectionate, allegorize, allied, allude to, alter ego, amigo, anonymous, approaching, approximate, approximating, arm-in-arm, assembled, associate, associated, assume, at home in, at home with, attest, backer, banded together, bespeak, best friend, betoken, bosom, bosom friend, bound, bracketed, bring to mind, brother, buddy, buddy-buddy, burning, carnal, casual acquaintance, caution, central, certain, chatty, cheek-by-jowl, cheerful, cherished, chum, chummy, close, close acquaintance, close friend, closet, colleague, collected, comfortable, comfy, communicate, companion, comrade, concrete, confidant, confidante, confident, confidential, confrere, conjoined, connected, connote, conversant with, copulate, cosy, coupled, cozy, crony, dear, deep, deep-seated, defined, definite, detailed, determinate, devoted, different, distinct, distinguished, drop a hint, elemental, entail, esoteric, especial, essential, exceptional, exhaustive, express, extraordinary, familiar, familiar with, favorer, fellow, fellow creature, fellowman, fixed, fond, friend, friendly, gathered, give a hint, give the cue, glance at, hand and glove, hand-in-glove, hand-in-hand, hidden, hint, hint at, homelike, homely, homey, homish, hot, implicate, imply, import, inborn, inbred, incognito, incorporated, indicate, individual, indoor, indwelling, infer, informal, informed in, ingrained, inmost, innate, inner, innermost, inseparable, inseparable friend, inside, insinuate, integrated, interior, internal, intestine, intimate with, intrinsic, involve, inward, isolated, joined, knotted, leagued, linked, lover, loving, make known, master of, matched, mate, mated, mean, mean to say, merged, minute, mucker, near, near the mark, nearest, nearing, nearish, neighbor, next, nigh, nighish, noteworthy, other self, paired, pal, pally, palsy-walsy, particular, partisan, peaceful, penetrating, personal, pickup, plain, point indirectly to, precise, presume, presuppose, private, privy, proficient in, profound, prompt, propinque, proximal, proximate, refer to, repository, respective, retired, secluded, secret, sequestered, several, sexual, side-by-side, sidekick, simple, singular, snug, solipsistic, special, specific, spliced, strong in, suggest, supporter, suppose, sympathizer, take for granted, tete-a-tete, thick, thick as thieves, thorough, tied, tip off, undivided, united, unpretending, unseparated, up on, versed in, vicinal, warm, warn, wedded, well-read in, well-wisher, withdrawn, yoked