intimate
1 Americanadjective
-
associated in close personal relations.
an intimate friend.
- Synonyms:
- dear
-
characterized by or involving warm friendship or a personally close or familiar association or feeling.
an intimate greeting.
-
very private; closely personal.
one's intimate affairs.
- Synonyms:
- secret, confidential
-
characterized by or suggesting an atmosphere conducive to privacy or intimacy; warmly cozy.
an intimate little café where we can relax and talk.
-
(of an association, knowledge, understanding, etc.) arising from close personal connection or familiar experience.
-
engaged in or characterized by sexual relations.
too young to handle an intimate relationship.
-
(of women's clothing) worn next to the skin, under street or outer garments.
a store that sells intimate apparel.
-
a more intimate analysis.
- Synonyms:
- profound, thorough, in-depth, exhaustive
-
showing a close union or combination of particles or elements.
an intimate mixture.
-
inmost; deep within.
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of the inmost or essential nature; intrinsic.
the intimate structure of an organism.
-
of, relating to, or existing in the inmost depths of the mind.
intimate beliefs.
noun
-
intimates
plural
adjective
-
characterized by a close or warm personal relationship
an intimate friend
-
deeply personal, private, or secret
-
euphemistic having sexual relations (with)
-
-
having a deep or unusual knowledge (of)
-
(of knowledge) deep; extensive
-
-
having a friendly, warm, or informal atmosphere
an intimate nightclub
-
of or relating to the essential part or nature of something; intrinsic
-
denoting the informal second person of verbs and pronouns in French and other languages
noun
verb
-
to hint; suggest
-
to proclaim; make known
Synonym Usage
See familiar.
See hint.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
intimatesimple
-
intimatessimple
-
have intimatedperfect
-
has intimatedperfect
-
am intimatingprogressive
-
are intimatingprogressive
-
is intimatingprogressive
-
have been intimatingperfect progressive
-
has been intimatingperfect progressive
Past
-
intimatedsimple
-
had intimatedperfect
-
was intimatingprogressive
-
were intimatingprogressive
-
had been intimatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intimate1
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin intimātus, past participle of intimāre “to announce, make known,” derivative of intimus “inmost, most intimate”; see intima
Origin of intimate2
First recorded in 1530–40; from Late Latin intimātus, past participle of intimāre “to impress (upon), make known,” equivalent to intim(us) “inmost” ( see intima) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Intimate means being close. A small restaurant is called intimate because you're sitting close to the other people, and your best friends are considered your intimate friends. This adjective can mean very friendly, or very personal or private. The original spelling was intime, from French, from Latin intimus "innermost," from intus "within." The related verb intimate means to hint or suggest. Intimate is also a noun meaning a close friend or associate. You might intimate to your intimates that you want to leave a boring party.
Vocabulary lists containing intimate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Diary of Anne Frank
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
In ‘Partita,’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Barbara Kingsolver weaves classical music and family tragedy into an intimate, resonant novel about second chances and self-discovery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
If audiences already know the intimate details of how a very real public leak, whistle-blow, or scandal came together, what’s left for them to learn by fictionalizing it all?
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Two sources who said they had intimate knowledge of the operation told the BBC that US authorities stopped digging before the search had been completed, possibly because of security concerns.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Thoughtfully positioned to embrace its extraordinary surroundings, the home offers an intimate connection to the coastline while maintaining a level of seclusion that is increasingly difficult to find.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Her eyes were pale, bored, regarding me with a kind of intimate amusement in the jaded light.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
“What we saw from Cafeteria was how important comfort was, so we’ve continued to focus on casuals and sweats, as well as sleepwear and intimates with that in mind,” Phillips said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
These are intentionally not the Kennedy family’s stories or takes from their intimates, but the people who had enough of a professional closeness to be at hand when the assassination happened.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2023
“There is something in a landscape like that which humbles you and intimates to you that there’s something very big out there, and this thing has an awful lot of power,” says Lindahl.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 13, 2023
The study intimates that AI aims to give people what they want—whatever that happens to be.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 2, 2023
In some sense that went deeper than friendship, they were intimates; somewhere or other, although the actual words might never be spoken, there was a place where they could meet and talk.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Newcastle do not want to lose another big name in Bruno Guimaraes, but the captain's future is uncertain after he intimated he wished to join Arsenal.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
During discussions aimed at checking the financial conditions of a deal for Guimaraes, it is understood a fee of around £60m was initially intimated with the 28-year-old's representatives.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
He looks like a walking ad for the designer Todd Snyder, and it’s also intimated that he’s bisexual.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The local police union meanwhile intimated that Smith’s Dec. 8 resignation was timed to duck further questioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
“The headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,” she said coldly.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Cronin said he anticipated using multiple starting lineups , intimating that they would be based on matchups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
However, Ten Hag refused to accept the negative view of the result, while intimating nobody should expect him to produce magical outcomes.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2024
The first paragraph argues that there is no “clause intimating it to be a compact.”
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023
Gay referred to the Jets’ run game, intimating New York isn’t looking to throw the ball much while its current quarterback struggles mightily.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
He was intimating that physics at Berkeley might have to continue without Robert Oppenheimer.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
