acquainted
Americanadjective
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having personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.; informed (usually followed bywith ).
to be acquainted with law.
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brought into social contact; made familiar.
people acquainted through mutual friends.
adjective
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(sometimes foll by with) on terms of familiarity but not intimacy
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(foll by with) having knowledge or experience (of); familiar (with)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of acquainted
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; acquaint + -ed 2
Explanation
When you're acquainted with someone, it means you know each other. If you're taking the city bus and realize that you know several of your fellow riders, you could say, "I'm acquainted with half of the passengers on this bus." As long as you know something or someone fairly well, you are acquainted with it, so you can be acquainted with a city, a mathematical idea, or a particular poem. The trickiest thing about the word acquainted is the way it's spelled. Like the words acquit and acquire, you just have to keep in mind that a c needs to go before the qu. After you've spelled it several times, you'll be well acquainted with the correct spelling.
Vocabulary lists containing acquainted
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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The Color Purple
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Acquainted with and influenced by famed architects Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, he advocated for consulting engineer Virgil Bogue’s visionary 1911 Seattle comprehensive plan, which fell to voter defeat in 1912.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2022
Vigorous head shake from Décharné: The word was current in London 200 years ago, when lexicographer Francis Grose — the author’s hero and inspiration — defined it as “Knowing. Acquainted with another’s meaning or proceeding.”
From Washington Post • May 31, 2017
I'm shooting a video in a few days for "Acquainted."
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2016
On Acquainted, he finally falls for someone, although whether Tesfaye was thinking of model Bella Hadid, who he was reported to be dating earlier this year, when he wrote it is moot.
From The Guardian • Aug. 28, 2015
Acquainted as he is with but one or two operations of his industry, if he loses his situation, it is only with the greatest of difficulty that he can find another.
From Boy Labour and Apprenticeship by Bray, Reginald Arthur
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
