Definition of “intimate” - English Dictionary

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“intimate” in English

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intimateadjective

uk ​ /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/ us ​ /ˈɪn.t̬ə.mət/

intimate adjective (PERSONAL)

C2 having, or being likely to cause, a very close friendship or personal or sexual relationship:

intimate relationships
The restaurant has a very intimate atmosphere.
He's become very intimate with an actress.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

intimately
adverb uk ​ /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət.li/ us ​ /ˈɪn.t̬ə.mət.li/

›

Well, I know who she is although I'm not intimately (= closely) acquainted with her.
She's been intimately involved in the project since it began.

intimatenoun [ C ]

uk ​ /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/ us ​ /ˈɪn.t̬ə.mət/ formal

intimateverb [ T ]

uk ​ /ˈɪn.tɪ.meɪt/ us ​ /ˈɪn.t̬ə.meɪt/ formal
intimation
noun [ C ] uk ​ /ˌɪn.tɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/ us ​ /ˌɪn.t̬əˈmeɪ.ʃən/

›

His suicide attempt was the first intimation that he was seriously depressed.

(Definition of “intimate” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“intimate” in American English

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intimateadjective

us ​ /ˈɪn·tə·mət/

intimate adjective (PERSONAL)

› being a close, personal friend, or having a close, personal relationship:

an intimate friend

› An intimate relationship can also refer to a romantic relationship:

They had been good friends, but they had never in any way been intimate.

› Intimate can also mean private and personal:

She refused to discuss the intimate details of her life.

intimate adjective (EXPERT)

› expert and detailed:

an intimate knowledge of cattle farming

intimatenoun [ C ]

us ​ /ˈɪn·tə·mət/

intimate noun [ C ] (FRIEND)

› a close friend:

George was never one of the president’s intimates.

intimateverb [ T ]

us ​ /ˈɪn·təˌmeɪt/

› to suggest that something will happen or is true, without saying so directly:

[ + that clause ] He intimated that they had thought about getting married.

(Definition of “intimate” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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intimate

People there suffered for a very long time under undemocratic regimes which arbitrarily controlled all areas of their life, even the most intimate.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
As regards the use of fragrances in baby products or products for intimate hygiene, we would have liked to have seen a complete outlawing of fragrances in baby products.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
As previous speakers have said, this is a very delicate subject which touches on the most intimate area of our citizens' lives.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
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