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
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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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.
See Examples For:
It's delicate and gorgeous and strangely intimate in a room of 20,000 people.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
An ode to the ecstasy of Scrabble: Do you love hearing someone talk about something they’re really passionate about and know very well, in great intimate detail?
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yes, the scene is intimate, but the nature of the show requires it to also be horrifying and comedic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But his death was an intimate injury to his loved ones first and foremost.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Awareness of this risk did not require intimate familiarity with cognitive bias research.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Although called a “Pietà,” it was not a depiction of Christ mourned by his intimates, but rather a “Man of Sorrows”—the dead Savior, half-length, with youthful angels—a timeless image designed for contemplation and meditation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Keck’s horizontal equestrian sculpture, which intimates occupation of the land, became Walker’s vertical, a grotesque standing humanoid, disemboweled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 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
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
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
No matter what was intimated in back-channel talks, the unwillingness of Iran’s regime to put substantive nuclear commitments in the memorandum of understanding is a warning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
He intimated he has "14-15" players in mind to start the game but will use the matches versus New Zealand and Costa Rica to decide his first tournament team.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 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
The message is disturbing, intimating that the two men were very close, had a lot in common and shared “a wonderful secret” about how “enigmas never age.”
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2025
The chair indicates “throne,” the austere clock adds a symbolic note of sober timeliness, as well as intimating life’s inevitable transience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024
"It's right that we take our time to wait for the report," she said, intimating that she would not be voting for the amendment.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 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
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.
