intimacy
Americannoun
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the state of being intimate.
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a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.
- Synonyms:
- affection, warmth, familiarity, closeness
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a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc..
an intimacy with Japan.
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an act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like.
to allow the intimacy of using first names.
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an amorously familiar act; liberty.
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sexual intercourse.
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the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar.
the intimacy of the room.
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privacy, especially as suitable to the telling of a secret.
in the intimacy of his studio.
noun
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close or warm friendship or understanding; personal relationship
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euphemistic (often plural) sexual relations
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of intimacy
First recorded in 1635–45; intim(ate) 1 + -acy
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.
Vocabulary lists containing intimacy
Power Suffix: -acy
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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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.
“A Friendship Story” focuses on relationships between pairs of women, exploring friendship, intimacy, support and shared experience.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026
For platforms, the challenge is verifying identities, policing boundaries, and making sure a market built around emotional intimacy doesn’t become a regulatory liability.
From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026
He did etchings, lithographs, even stained glass windows - equally at home working with the grandeur of opera design and the intimacy of pen and ink.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
His extensive reporting for “Checkmate,” including the cooperation of its principals, gives the book a page-turning intimacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
That familiar, tantalizing evocation of intimacy in another place and time.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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.
