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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intimacy intimacies

Put simply: It’s more difficult to maintain the true intimacy than it’s ever been.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

According to Talbot, intimacy coordinators have three jobs: to advocate, to coordinate and to choreograph.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

“There’s loads of different types of intimacy going on,” Talbot said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

They may subconsciously view intimacy as a threat to their autonomy and withdraw when relationships become too emotionally close.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Taken aback, she not only dropped the receiver but admitted to him that she had — a small intimacy.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

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

“They find their intimacies not necessarily in the stability and resolution of marriage but in love affairs and chosen family and friendships with women.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2024

In a mega two-hour, dual album, released in two parts as "The Tortured Poets Department" and "The Anthology," Swift pens 31 different heartbreaks, triumphs and intimacies — tortured poems if you will.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2024

He wanted to tell her something about himself, too, wanted to exchange small kernels of intimacies with her.

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

Related Words

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