intimate

1. 1.

   marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity

   “intimate friend”

   “intimate relations between economics, politics, and legal principles”

   Similarclose
2. 2.

   concerning things deeply private and personal

   “intimate correspondence”

   “private family matters”

   Synonymsprivate

   Similarpersonal
3. 3.

   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”

   Synonymscozyinformal

   Similarfriendly
4. 4.

   having mutual interests or affections; of established friendship

   “on familiar terms”

   “pretending she is on an intimate footing with those she slanders”

   Synonymsfamiliar

   Similarclose
5. 5.

   used euphemistically to refer to the genitals

   “he touched her intimate parts”

   Similarsexual
6. 6.

   involved in a sexual relationship

   “the intimate (or sexual) relations between husband and wife”

   “she had been intimate with many men”

   Synonymssexual

   Similarsexy
7. 7.

   innermost or essential

   “the inner logic of Cubism”

   “the internal contradictions of the theory”

   “the intimate structure of matter”

   Synonymsinnerinternal

   Similarintrinsic
8. 8.

   thoroughly acquainted through study or experience

   “this girl, so intimate with nature”

   “knowledgeable about the technique of painting”

   Synonymsknowledgeableversed

   Similarexperienced

1. 1.

   give to understand

   “I insinuated that I did not like his wife”

   Synonymsadumbrateinsinuate

   Broaderhint
2. 2.

   imply as a possibility

   “The evidence suggests a need for more clarification”

   Synonymssuggest

   Broaderimply

   Narrowermake out

1. 1.

   someone to whom private matters are confided

   Synonymsconfidant

   Broaderfriend

   Narrowerconfidanterepository

Other forms of intimate

plural

intimates·

past tense

intimated·

present participle

intimating·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about intimate

What does intimate mean?

intimate means "marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity". That is the primary sense; the word has 11 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in intimate?

intimate has 3 syllables: in-ti-mate. The stress falls on "in". In IPA it is /ˈɪntəmət/.

What is another word for intimate?

Close synonyms include private, cozy, informal, familiar, sexual. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is intimate a common word?

intimate is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.