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intimate

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Pronunciation

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Adjective, noun

  • enPR: ĭn'tĭmət, IPA(key): /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Latin intimātus, the perfect passive participle of intimō (“to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar”) (see -ate (adjective forming suffix)), from intimus (“inmost, innermost, most intimate”), superlative of intus (“within”), from in (“in”); see interior.

Adjective

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intimate (comparative more intimate, superlative most intimate)

  1. Closely acquainted; familiar.
    Synonym: thick (informal)
    an intimate friend
    He and his sister deeply valued their intimate relationship as they didn't have much else to live for.
  2. Personal; private.
    an intimate setting
  3. (euphemistic) Pertaining to sex organs or underwear.
    • 2017 [2014], Elizabeth K. Briody, Ken C. Erickson, “Success despite the silos: System-wide innovation and collaboration”, in Maryann McCabe, editor, Collaborative Ethnography in Business Environments, Routledge, page 37:
      Intimate apparel departments have separate sections for bras and panties; within those sections, our intimate apparel firm would have its bras displayed separately from its panties.
  4. (euphemistic) Pertaining to sexual acts or a sexual relationship.
    She enjoyed some intimate time alone with her husband.
    • 2011 October 28, Kevin Underhill, “Shape-Shifting Donkey Prostitute Strikes Again”, in Lowering the Bar‎[1], archived from the original on 16 December 2022:
      The man, who had been arrested for being intimate with a donkey, admitted the conduct in question but claimed that the donkey had not been a donkey when he met her at a nightclub last Saturday night, but rather a prostitute.
  5. Pertaining to details that require great familiarity to know.
    The candidate showed an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of politics.
    • 2015, Slawomir Pikula, Joanna Bandorowicz-Pikula, Patrick Groves, “NMR of lipids”, in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, volume 44, Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, →ISSN, page 391:
      Grélard et al.87 determined the intimate structure of pseudoviral particles of hepatitis B subvirus using solid-state NMR, light scattering, and cryo-electron microscopy.
  6. Very finely mixed.
    Black powder consists of an intimate mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From a substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Noun

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intimate (plural intimates)

  1. A very close friend.
    Synonyms: bosom buddy, bosom friend, cater-cousin
    Only a couple of intimates had ever read his writing.
  2. (in the plural intimates) Women's underwear, sleepwear, or lingerie, especially offered for sale in a store.
    Synonym: intimate apparel
    You'll find bras and panties in the intimates section upstairs.
Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Latin intimātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French intimer.

Verb

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intimate (third-person singular simple present intimates, present participle intimating, simple past and past participle intimated)

  1. (ambitransitive) To suggest or disclose (something) discreetly.
    Synonym: hint
    He intimated that we should leave before the argument escalated.
    • 1625, [Samuel] Purchas, “A Diſcourſe of the Kingdome of China”, in Purchas His Pilgrimes. […], 3rd part, London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, § V, page 380:
      And ſince this Family, called Ciu, which now holdeth the Souereigntie, hath reigned, it is called Min [translating 明 (Míng)], which intimateth Splendour, and by vſuall addition of one ſyllable Ta-min [translating 大明 (Dàmíng)], that is, the Kingdome of Great Splendour, Brightneſſe or Glory.
    • 1878, Henry James, An International Episode‎[2]:
      One of our friends, nevertheless—the younger one—intimated that he felt a disposition to interrupt a few of these soft familiarities; but his companion observed, pertinently enough, that he had better be careful.
    • 1936, Dale Carnegie, “Talk about your own mistakes first”, in How to Win Friends and Influence People, page 223:
      […] Von Bulow saved himself in time—but, canny diplomat that he was, he nevertheless had made one error: he should have begun by talking about his own shortcomings and Wilhelm's superiority—not by intimating that the Kaiser was a half-wit in need of a guardian.
    • 1981, Robert Alter, “A Literary Approach to the Bible”, in The Art of Biblical Narrative, page 11:
      The thematic point of retaliation, as we have seen, is intimated in the biblical text, but without the suggestion that Judah himself is conscious of the connections.
    • 2025 August 7, Jonathan Lemire, “Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way”, in The Atlantic‎[3]:
      He feels deeply betrayed by his MAGA supporters who believed him when he intimated during the campaign that something was nefarious about the government’s handling of the [Epstein] case, and who now have a hard time believing him when he says their suspicions are actually bogus.
  2. (transitive, India) To notify.
    I will intimate you when the details are available.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Esperanto

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Adverb

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intimate

  1. present adverbial passive participle of intimi

Italian

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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intimate

  1. inflection of intimare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

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Participle

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intimate f pl

  1. feminine plural of intimato

Anagrams

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Latin

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Verb

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intimāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of intimō

Spanish

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Verb

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intimate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of intimar combined with te
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