intimately

American  

[in-tuh-mit-lee] / ˈɪn tə mɪt li /

adverb

1. in a way that entails, assumes, or suggests a close, warm, trusting personal relationship.

   He was quick to rebuke others, but only those he knew intimately and loved dearly.

   Churchill spoke intimately and easily over the wireless to his own people during the war.

2. in a way that arises from long or frequent direct personal experience.

   Cycling acquaints you intimately with every bump, slice, crease, divot, ledge, ripple, and pothole in a street.

3. in a way that affords or encourages privacy, coziness, closeness of interaction, etc..

   The small tables are so that people can converse more intimately, even among a larger group.

   The beautifully renovated 150-seat theater offers an intimately scaled setting with state-of-the-art acoustics.

4. in a way that involves a close union or connection.

   Many of the ailments seen in the inpatient service are intimately linked to the malnutrition plaguing the region.

5. in a way that involves or suggests sex.

   Posts must not contain name-calling, profanity, or intimately explicit material.

   Chlamydia is an intimately transmitted infection.

6. in a deep and detailed way.

   Her letters and journals reveal a woman intimately involved in the day-to-day happenings of the school.

7. in the innermost depths of one’s mind or heart.

   It has given me an opportunity to share ideas, thoughts, and intimately held beliefs with others equally interested in deeper questions.

8. next to the skin, as underclothing, wigs, etc..

   Please read our exchange policy carefully; these are quality garments that are worn intimately and hence cannot be exchanged or returned.

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Etymology

Origin of intimately

intimate ¹ ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Deconstructing and reconstructing a dish you know intimately teaches you not just theory, but execution — how flavors layer, how textures shift, how balance is achieved.

From Salon

Since the end of World War II, Washington’s relationship with Moscow was its most carefully calibrated, helmed by spy agencies who knew their rival intimately.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s a record that is designed to be intimately understood by Latinos, with Bad Bunny’s personal ethos of Puerto Rican independence managing to build a bridge between the island and those displaced from it.

From Los Angeles Times

This is Amis at his nastiest and best, skewering a world he knew intimately.

From The Wall Street Journal

Much like mandatory conscription meant civilian and military life were intimately connected, highways, bridges, train stations and ports were designed to serve as military assets if needed.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• informally
• personally