acquaintance
a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.
the state of being acquainted or casually familiar with someone or something: As far as I know, no one of my acquaintance has traveled around the world.
personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.: a good acquaintance with French wines.
(used with a plural verb) the persons with whom one is acquainted.
Origin of acquaintance
1- Also ac·quaint·ance·ship (for defs. 2, 3) .
synonym study For acquaintance
Other words for acquaintance
Other words from acquaintance
- non·ac·quaint·ance, noun
- non·ac·quaint·ance·ship, noun
- pre·ac·quaint·ance, noun
- pseu·do·ac·quaint·ance, noun
- re·ac·quaint·ance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use acquaintance in a sentence
Some longtime local acquaintances are struggling to square the man they know with the ugly associations.
No. 3 Republican Admits Talking to White Supremacist Conference | Tim Mak | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI lost contact with friends and acquaintances, irreplaceable photos from mobile uploads, and my faith in social media.
Porn Stars Want to Know: Why Did Facebook Delete Me? | Aurora Snow | August 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe user selects a username and then adds the usernames of friends, acquaintances, or strangers.
I met her through mutual acquaintances and she offered me a contract on the spot.
We were not even acquaintances in high school...We didn't travel in the same circles in high school.
Revenge of the Nerd: Wildstein Rats Out the Boss | Michael Tomasky | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He would go out and secure orders there at home among his friends and acquaintances.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxThere was a host of friends and acquaintances around the little home, making merry and admiring the baby.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeIn a dream he crossed the crowded hall, avoiding various acquaintances with unconscious cunning.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodThey gardened, they drove out, they rowed and sailed upon the lake, but they declined all acquaintances.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsAt first I almost perished with loneliness, but now that I have a few acquaintances here I am enjoying it.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay
British Dictionary definitions for acquaintance
/ (əˈkweɪntəns) /
a person with whom one has been in contact but who is not a close friend
knowledge of a person or thing, esp when slight
make the acquaintance of to come into social contact with
those persons collectively whom one knows
philosophy the relation between a knower and the object of his knowledge, as contrasted with knowledge by description (esp in the phrase knowledge by acquaintance)
Derived forms of acquaintance
- acquaintanceship, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with acquaintance
see nodding acquaintance; scrape up an acquaintance.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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