intimatein‧ti‧mate1 /ˈɪntəmət/ ●○○ adjective 
the intimate atmosphere of a country pub an intimate meal for two The collection has been moved from its intimate setting to the British Museum.2friends having an extremely close friendship: an intimate friend of Picasso’s an intimate relationship She’s on intimate terms with people in government.3intimate knowledge of something very detailed knowledge of something as a result of careful study or a lot of experience: his intimate knowledge of the coal industry4private relating to very private or personal matters: the publication of intimate details of their affair► see thesaurus at private5sex formal a)relating to sex: The virus can only be transmitted through intimate contact. b)be intimate with somebody to have sex with someone6intimate link/connection etc a very close connection between two things: the intimate connection between physical and mental health—intimately adverb: The two aspects are intimately connected. I am intimately acquainted with the state of my bank account.
WORD ORIGINintimate1
Origin:
1600-1700 intime ‘intimate’ (1600-1700), from Latin intimus; ➔ INTIMATE2EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- intimate apparel
- Dinner was served in an intimate room with just two other tables.
- He knew Monet as an associate, if not an intimate friend.
- I saw that Brian was having an intimate conversation with an attractive young woman, and so I left quietly.
- She was asked about the most intimate details of her life.
- Some of the author's intimate correspondence was published after her death.
- Some people see nothing wrong with appearing on a TV show, and revealing their most intimate thoughts.
- They held hands, walked along the beach, and shared intimate secrets.
- You do not expect to see the most intimate details of your marriage splashed across the pages of the newspapers.
- Close and intimate friendships are characterised by commitment and vulnerability.
- Communities are overcrowded, with public facilities more often aimed at impersonal masses rather than stimulating intimate interaction.
- Gramm lately has attempted to soften his image, holding a series of intimate discussions with undecided voters in their kitchens.
- Minna, she and I are not intimate.
- Murder seemed to her too intimate, too similar to giving birth.
- Now they are talking intimate possibilities, so I slipped away.
- The only long-term, intimate relationships that Ally McBeal could have are with the mirror or the camera.
- These important nuances are often recognised only after a long and intimate experience of the couple under study.
THESAURUS
if something is private, you do not want most people to know about it because it concerns your feelings, your relationships etc: · He didn’t want to discuss his private life.· What happens in the bedroom is strictly private.
relating to your private life – used especially about problems, feelings, and questions: · They asked a lot of personal questions.· She talked about her own personal feelings.· I’d rather not talk about it – it’s personal.· The singer has had a lot of problems in her personal life.
[only before noun] used about feelings and thoughts that you do not tell anyone about: · Barclay had a secret desire to become an actor.· His secret fear was that Jenny would leave him.
very private – used about things relating to your relationships and sexual feelings: · an intimate conversation· Many people share intimate details of their lives on the Internet.· their intimate moments together
[only before noun] your innermost feelings, thoughts etc are your most private ones: · Counselling often encourages you to reveal your innermost thoughts.
if something is none of your business, it is private and you should not ask about it: · It’s none of your business how much I earn.· ‘Are you married?’ ‘That’s none of your business.’
Longman Language Activatorprivate conversations and letters between yourself and another person, and not to be listened to or seen by anyone else: · He keeps his private papers locked away in the top drawer of his desk.· You shouldn't be listening to a private conversation!· The book contains extracts from his diary and private letters.
personal letters and papers concern only yourself and are not for other people to read: · I'm sorry but my diary is personal. I don't let anyone else read it.· There was a letter on Sarah's desk marked "personal".
intimate conversations etc are very private and usually concerned with your relationships, sexual feelings etc : · Some of the author's intimate correspondence was published after her death.· I saw that Brian was having an intimate conversation with an attractive young woman, and so I left quietly.
private thoughts and feelings not for other people to know about: · We all have our private dreams, fantasies and secrets. · Guy had to obey his superiors, no matter what his private thoughts on the matter.· Brian had an irritating habit of saying, "It'll be fine!", whenever she mentioned any of her private fears.keep something private: · Clarence refused to comment on the state of his marriage, saying, it "is a private matter which we'd like to keep private."
your secret thoughts and feelings are ones that you never show and never tell anyone else about: · I had a secret ambition to return to politics.secret hopes/fears/desires etc: · Psychologists say that dreams can reveal our secret desires.· Williams' diaries reveal all his secret hopes and fears.
very private, and usually concerned with your relationships, sexual feelings etc: · Some people see nothing wrong with appearing on a TV show, and revealing their most intimate thoughts.· They held hands, walked along the beach, and shared intimate secrets. intimate details: · You do not expect to see the most intimate details of your marriage splashed across the pages of the newspapers.
your personal thoughts and feelings are ones that you feel deeply, and do not usually tell other people about: · I'm not going to tell you that - it's personal!personal feelings/thoughts/problems: · She felt her problems were too personal to talk about.· In those days it was socially unacceptable for men to cry in public, or to express their personal feelings.
: innermost feelings/thoughts/secrets/desires etc feelings, thoughts etc that are very important to you, but that you do not like to talk to other people about: · He's not the kind of person to reveal his innermost secrets, even to his closest friends.· She works with emotionally disturbed people, teaching them to express their innermost feelings through poetry.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The collection has been moved from its intimate setting to the British Museum. She’s on intimate terms with people in government. the publication of intimate details of their affairCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The collection has been moved from its intimate setting to the British Museum. She’s on intimate terms with people in government. the publication of intimate details of their affair (=a close one)· His intimate circle was tiny.
(=a very close connection)· There is an intimate connection between political liberty and economic freedom.
(=knowledge about something because you are involved in it)· He seemed to have an intimate knowledge of prison life.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Traditionally, an intimate connection has been seen between style and an author's personality.· Mythologies all over the world describe the intimate connection, often antipathy, between birds and snakes.
· He couldn't bear the intimate contact with other people.· Was it a substitute for intimate contact?· So what about sanitary towels and tampons: bleached products that also come into intimate contact with the human body?· Whilst matrix isolation attempts to reproduce this situation, the target molecules are in intimate contact with the matrix material.· They found that the people living on the estate did not have such intimate contact with their extended kin network.· Larger atoms, in less intimate contact, tend to have weaker bonds.
· I recalled he had struck up an intimate conversation with her in the lobby after breakfast.· I wonder where and when my father and my sister have had such intimate conversations.· They looked as if they had already had a long and intimate conversation together.· Still, my resolution as I write this is to work hard to find a ritual time for intimate conversations with Miles.· There is also the taped evidence of an intimate conversation between Princess Diana and James Gilbey.· It is degrading for both parties, and makes any serious or intimate conversation impossible.· He's been helping me with my new computer were teenagers anti chose to and recently we had an intimate conversation.
· How can Annie Murphy remember in such intimate detail things which happened 18 years ago?· Mike was thoroughly embarrassed at having exposed intimate details of his life, but his classmates rallied around him.· They shared no intimate details of their lives with each other.
· These important nuances are often recognised only after a long and intimate experience of the couple under study.· And music should be an intimate experience.· They have intimate experience of what it means to be rejected, forgotten, isolated.· Those who have made the trip say that nothing compares to the intimate experience of creeping along the bottom in a submersible.· Such an approach has the merits of appearing commonsensical, according with our own intimate experiences.· Performance artist Mat Bevel enhances the intimate experience with his sculptural creations and interpretive lighting.· An intimate experience probably helped to change his mind.
· I asked Kagan if he had come to me knowing that I was an intimate friend of the man concerned.· Previously he played with lots of kids but had few intimate friends.· After the war, most of Montparnasse would claim to have been intimate friends of Modigliani.· In no time at all Alix became his intimate friend.· She had no idea whether it was to be a large gathering, or just a few intimate friends.· Robert Altman is not a close, intimate friend, but I have interviewed him over a period of 26 years.
· I've often thought it might be better if I had more intimate knowledge.· Naturally, they had an intimate knowledge of the terrain.· While not insurmountable they can be overcome only by those with experience and intimate knowledge of police work.· Without an intimate knowledge of haemoglobin it would be easy to dismiss them as random noise.· This octavo volume of 310 pages, with plants arranged under 696 genera, proves his intimate knowledge of the estate.· Not just for one night, but for several, and to develop an intimate knowledge of the local badger community.· This allows suppliers to specialise and to develop an intimate knowledge of customer needs and wants.· But it has the compelling authority that only intimate knowledge and great indignation can bring.
· Communication skills affect every area of life, from expressing feelings in intimate relationships to dealing with over-zealous shop assistants.· But l wanted to step beyond that and explore what an intimate relationship would be.· The commercialization of the press With time, the intimate relationship described above was to go through periods of stress and change.· Mullican, too, continues to create cosmological imagery infused by his intimate relationship with the natural world.· The only long-term, intimate relationships that Ally McBeal could have are with the mirror or the camera.· The same is true in other intimate relationships.· Patient E12 had only attended the class for two months in early 1991 during an intimate relationship with patient E8.· It was hard to imagine him having a casual chat with anyone, let alone a more intimate relationship.
· The luxurious dress, ornate chair and intimate setting reflect the rococo spirit of the period.· Shielded by shadows, away from the world, in a safe and intimate setting, it is possible to talk.· Simple division Being able to divide a living/dining room into two distinct areas means you can easily create an intimate setting.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1restaurant/meal/place private and friendly so that you feel comfortable: - Her dedication would now be complete, an offering made from a full heart and an intimate knowledge of mental pain.
- Hindley Foster had obviously perceived her dilemma and understood it, even though he had said he had no intimate knowledge of procreation.
- Naturally, they had an intimate knowledge of the terrain.
- Not just for one night, but for several, and to develop an intimate knowledge of the local badger community.
- This allows suppliers to specialise and to develop an intimate knowledge of customer needs and wants.
- This octavo volume of 310 pages, with plants arranged under 696 genera, proves his intimate knowledge of the estate.
- While not insurmountable they can be overcome only by those with experience and intimate knowledge of police work.
- Without an intimate knowledge of haemoglobin it would be easy to dismiss them as random noise.
- It was the only time when he was intimate with his hero Temple.
- We were intimate with each other - not in a romantic way but in terms of our working relationship.
- Heat had intimate links with chemistry, and optics with astronomy.
- Mythologies all over the world describe the intimate connection, often antipathy, between birds and snakes.
- Traditionally, an intimate connection has been seen between style and an author's personality.
the intimate atmosphere of a country pub an intimate meal for two The collection has been moved from its intimate setting to the British Museum.2friends having an extremely close friendship: an intimate friend of Picasso’s an intimate relationship She’s on intimate terms with people in government.3intimate knowledge of something very detailed knowledge of something as a result of careful study or a lot of experience: his intimate knowledge of the coal industry4private relating to very private or personal matters: the publication of intimate details of their affair► see thesaurus at private5sex formal a)relating to sex: The virus can only be transmitted through intimate contact. b)be intimate with somebody to have sex with someone6intimate link/connection etc a very close connection between two things: the intimate connection between physical and mental health—intimately adverb: The two aspects are intimately connected. I am intimately acquainted with the state of my bank account.