Intimate Meaning
/ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjClosely acquainted; familiar.
adjPersonal; private.
Sentence Examples
That topic is too intimate to share with casual acquaintances.
This party is an intimate gathering.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The couple shared secrets in a quiet room, so their talk felt very ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They shared an ____ conversation about their hopes and fears while walking along the beach.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 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:
"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."
— 2011 October 28, Kevin Underhill, “Shape-Shifting Donkey Prostitute Strikes Again”, in Lowering the Bar, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2022:
"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."
— 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:
"Harry and David spent most of their childhood outside, developing an intimate knowledge of the animals, waterways, and plant life of Mid Wales."
— 2026 May 26, Cyrus Dunham, “Nature's Way”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 106:
"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."
— 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:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The couple shared secrets in a quiet room, so their talk felt very ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They shared an ____ conversation about their hopes and fears while walking along the beach.