intimacy
Americannoun
plural
intimacies-
the state of being intimate.
-
a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.
- Synonyms:
- affection, warmth, familiarity, closeness
-
a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc..
an intimacy with Japan.
-
an act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like.
to allow the intimacy of using first names.
-
an amorously familiar act; liberty.
-
sexual intercourse.
-
the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar.
the intimacy of the room.
-
privacy, especially as suitable to the telling of a secret.
in the intimacy of his studio.
noun
-
close or warm friendship or understanding; personal relationship
-
euphemistic (often plural) sexual relations
Etymology
Origin of intimacy
First recorded in 1635–45; intim(ate) 1 + -acy
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.
"It's awful and you feel naked and open to attack because you worry about being rejected and maybe sometimes that will happen but when it doesn't that's where intimacy and close relationships start to grow."
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
His love for his new fiancée—he only recently ended his fraught marriage to the actress Patricia Neal, having begun his liaison with Liccy well before its dissolution—comes through in moments of quick, quiet intimacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Closely cropped and dramatically lighted, the tight composition gives the familiar scene a new immediacy and intimacy, leavened by the playful interaction of the Christ child and St. John.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
But the piece is a more traditional coming-of-age drama, and it flourishes in the intimacy of the smaller venue.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
Rufus wearing my glasses is a welcome intimacy, like we’ve known each other for so long that this kind of silliness comes easily to us.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
