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intimately

 - 3 dictionary results

in⋅ti⋅mate

1[in-tuh-mit]
–adjective
1. associated in close personal relations: an intimate friend.
2. characterized by or involving warm friendship or a personally close or familiar association or feeling: an intimate greeting.
3. very private; closely personal: one's intimate affairs.
4. characterized by or suggesting privacy or intimacy; warmly cozy: an intimate little café.
5. (of an association, knowledge, understanding, etc.) arising from close personal connection or familiar experience.
6. engaged in or characterized by sexual relations.
7. (of clothing) worn next to the skin, under street or outer garments: intimate apparel.
8. detailed; deep: a more intimate analysis.
9. showing a close union or combination of particles or elements: an intimate mixture.
10. inmost; deep within.
11. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the inmost or essential nature; intrinsic: the intimate structure of an organism.
12. of, pertaining to, or existing in the inmost depths of the mind: intimate beliefs.
–noun
13. an intimate friend or associate, esp. a confidant.

Origin:
1600–10; < L intim(us) a close friend (n. use of the adj.; see intima ) + -ate 1


in⋅ti⋅mate⋅ly, adverb
in⋅ti⋅mate⋅ness, noun


1. dear. See familiar. 3. privy, secret. 8. exacting, thorough. 13. crony.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To intimately
in·ti·mate 1   (ĭn'tə-mĭt)   
adj.  
  1. Marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity.

  2. Relating to or indicative of one's deepest nature: intimate prayers.

  3. Essential; innermost: the intimate structure of matter.

  4. Marked by informality and privacy: an intimate nightclub.

  5. Very personal; private: an intimate letter.

  6. Of or involved in a sexual relationship.

n.  A close friend or confidant.

[Latin intimātus, past participle of intimāre, to make familiar with; see intimate2.]
in'ti·mate·ly adv., in'ti·mate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

intimate  (adj.)
1632, "closely acquainted, very familiar," from L.L. intimatus, pp. of intimare "make known, announce, impress," from L. intimus "inmost" (adj.), "close friend" (n.), superl. of in "in." Used euphemistically of women's underwear from 1904.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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