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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.
    • 2026 May, Cyrus Dunham, “Nature's Way”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 106:
      Harry and David spent most of their childhood outside, developing an intimate knowledge of the animals, waterways, and plant life of Mid Wales.
  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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