intimacy

American  

[in-tuh-muh-see] / ˈɪn tə mə si /

noun

• intimacies
  plural

1. the state of being intimate.

2. a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.

   Synonyms:

   affection, warmth, familiarity, closeness

3. a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc..

   an intimacy with Japan.

4. an act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like.

   to allow the intimacy of using first names.

5. an amorously familiar act; liberty.

6. sexual intercourse.

7. the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar.

   the intimacy of the room.

8. privacy, especially as suitable to the telling of a secret.

   in the intimacy of his studio.

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intimacy British  

/ ˈɪntɪməsɪ /

noun

1. close or warm friendship or understanding; personal relationship

2. euphemistic (often plural) sexual relations

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• intimacies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of intimacy

First recorded in 1635–45; intim(ate) ¹ + -acy

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Explanation

Intimacy is closeness with another person, like the intimacy that develops between friends as you tell one another your life stories and all your secrets and dreams for the future. The noun intimacy comes from the Latin word intimare, which means “impress,” or “make familiar,” which comes from the Latin intimus, meaning “inmost.” Intimacy is a close, family-like connection. There is another kind of intimacy — physical intimacy, which comes from having a sexual relationship, which, one hopes, fosters the other kind of intimacy as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intimacy intimacies

This deeply tender and generous memoir pulls back from the intimacy of David’s bungalow to take in all humanity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Reclaim human intimacy: As A.I. makes inroads into all aspects of society, are chatbots damaging our capacity to maintain relationships with real people?

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026

Simon says that broken sleep, caused by a partner's snoring, can lead to irritability, arguments, and - if it is decided that sleeping in separate rooms is needed - reduced intimacy.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Telluride’s intimacy is part of its peculiar power.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The long pause that followed filled Ugwu with a deeply uncomfortable sense of intimacy; she had never before spoken to him about Master like this.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

His mind slalomed elegantly through the intimacies of his body, his marriages and his neighborhood, but never through ideology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

The lines that had once been carved in laws and norms are obsolete in the eyes of an algorithm designed to lure you into the performative intimacies of strangers’ lives.

From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2025

“Women’s friendships are created and maintained principally through conversation, where the focus is often on intimacies and the discussion of social and emotional issues,” researchers mused.

From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2024

They hold decades inside them, slowly unpeel into intimacies between characters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2023

They said they loved each other, used “darling” and “dearest,” and knew their future was together, but they held back from wilder intimacies.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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Related Words

• affection
• confidence
• confidentiality
• familiarity
• friendship
• understanding

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