An acquaintance is someone who you have met and know slightly, but not well.
The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his. [+ of]
I have a large circle of friends and acquaintances engaged in photography.
2. variable noun [oft poss NOUN, onN]
If you have an acquaintancewith someone, you have met them and you know them.
He had met her through his acquaintance with Anne. [+ with]
On first acquaintance she is cool and slightly distant.
3. uncountable noun
Your acquaintancewith a subject is your knowledge or experience of it.
[formal]
They had little or no acquaintance with philosophy or history. [+ with]
4.
See make someone's acquaintance
5.
See of someone's acquaintance
More Synonyms of acquaintance
acquaintance in British English
(əˈkweɪntəns)
noun
1.
a person with whom one has been in contact but who is not a close friend
2.
knowledge of a person or thing, esp when slight
3. make the acquaintance of
4.
those persons collectively whom one knows
5. philosophy
the relation between a knower and the object of his or her knowledge, as contrasted with knowledge by description (esp in the phrase knowledge by acquaintance)
Derived forms
acquaintanceship (acˈquaintanceˌship)
noun
acquaintance in American English
(əˈkweɪntəns)
noun
1.
knowledge (of something) gotten from personal experience or study of it
an intimate acquaintance with the plays of Jonson
2.
the state or relation of being acquainted (with someone)
3.
a person or persons whom one knows, but not intimately
Idioms:
make someone's acquaintance
Derived forms
acquaintanceship (acˈquaintanceˌship)
noun
More idioms containing
acquaintance
a passing acquaintance
COBUILD Collocations
acquaintance
mutual acquaintance
renew acquaintances
Examples of 'acquaintance' in a sentence
acquaintance
She fled abroad to escape her tormentors and keeps her past a secret from new acquaintances.
The Sun (2016)
There is a difference between intimacy and social contact, close friends and acquaintances.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What is it that old acquaintances aren't supposed to forget?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At first acquaintance Bedfordshire seems a rather nondescript county to walk in.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
An acquaintance who always makes you smile could be The One.
The Sun (2017)
To most friends and acquaintances, I remained my old self.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
You have got your retirement to catch up with old acquaintances over dinner.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Edward did not refer to the past for some time after they had renewed their acquaintance.
Frederick Marryat The Children of the New Forest (1847)
It will be a new acquaintance for me.
The Sun (2015)
His own books carry the imprint of their close acquaintance.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
She had a regular round of calls with neighbours for coffee and had many friends and acquaintances.
Hambly, Dr Kenneth Banish Anxiety - how to stop worrying and take charge of your life (1991)
The first "acquaintance" process after delivery may be an especially important one for parents.
Bee, Helen The Developing Child (7th edn.) (1995)
The person will fail to recognise various old friends and acquaintances.
Thomas Blaikie Blaikie's Guide to Modern Manners (2005)
His engaging smile was always the first thing new acquaintances noticed about him.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Economic commentary and a flair for language are rarely close acquaintances.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
She also ceased most of her contacts with her former friends and acquaintances.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Rarely will you feel so at home on a motorcycle at first acquaintance.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He wrote that he had been contacted by acquaintances seeking advice as to whether they should talk to me.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Better still, the musicians to whom he was introduced were happy to make his acquaintance.
John Harris THE LAST PARTY: Britpop, Blair and the demise of English rock (2003)
Visiting by friends, acquaintances and loved ones is open.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Is there any sort of etiquette for probing the relatives of one 's acquaintances for information?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The French seem to value making physical contact with acquaintances more than we do here.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
How does an Englishman greet an acquaintance whom one meets in the street?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It is partly the sharp contrast between seeing a close friend and a mere acquaintance that makes contacts with outsiders seem so stiff.
Harris, Marvin Cultural Anthropology (1995)
I look forward to seeing the place again, renewing old acquaintances.
The Sun (2006)
A small acquaintance with history or anthropology suggests that humans have the capacity for the most outlandish beliefs as well as the most wicked crimes.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
During the night, individuals from both groups visited each other, renewing acquaintances.
Harris, Marvin Cultural Anthropology (1995)
Times of greeting and sharing in a public context, especially with strangers or distant acquaintances, are unnatural and sometimes painfully uncomfortable.
Christianity Today (2000)
I’ve heard so much about him, and I do so want to make his acquaintance.
Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows (1908)
Quotations
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?Robert BurnsAuld Lang Syne
I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintanceSamuel Johnson
acquaintance: a person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend toAmbrose BierceThe Devil's Dictionary
In other languages
acquaintance
British English: acquaintance NOUN
An acquaintance is someone who you have met and know slightly, but not well.
The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.
American English: acquaintance
Brazilian Portuguese: conhecido
Chinese: 相识之人
European Spanish: conocido
French: connaissance
German: Bekannte
Italian: conoscenza
Japanese: 知人
Korean: 아는 사람
European Portuguese: conhecido
Latin American Spanish: conocido
All related terms of 'acquaintance'
acquaintance rape
a rape that is carried out by someone that the victim knows
acquaintance violence
impulsive aggressive behaviour towards someone with whom the attacker has been in contact
mutual acquaintance
An acquaintance is someone who you have met and know slightly , but not well.
nodding acquaintance
a slight , casual , or superficial knowledge (of a subject or a person)
a passing acquaintance
someone you know , but only slightly
make someone's acquaintance
When you make someone's acquaintance , you meet them for the first time and get to know them a little.
make the acquaintance of
to come into social contact with
of someone's acquaintance
A person of your acquaintance is someone who you have met and know .
Chinese translation of 'acquaintance'
acquaintance
(əˈkweɪntəns)
n
(c) (= person) 熟人 (shúrén) (个(個), gè)
(u) (= familiarity)
(with person) 结(結)识(識) (jiéshí)
(with subject) 了解 (liǎojiě)
to make sb's acquaintance (frm) 结(結)识(識)某人 (jiéshí mǒurén)
1 (noun)
Definition
a person whom one knows slightly
I exchanged a few words with an old acquaintance.
Synonyms
associate
the restaurant owner's business associates
contact
She'd built up a number of business contacts over the years.
ally
She is a close ally of the Prime Minister.
colleague
Three of my colleagues have been made redundant.
comrade
Unlike so many of his comrades, he survived the war.
confrère
Opposites
good friend
, intimate,
buddy
,
main man (slang, mainly US)
2 (noun)
Definition
slight knowledge of a person or subject
He becomes involved in a real murder mystery through his acquaintance with a police officer.
Synonyms
relationship
Money problems place great stress on close family relationships.
association
The association between the two companies stretches back 30 years.
exchange
knowledge
She disclaims any knowledge of her husband's business concerns.
connection
She used her connections to full advantage.
awareness
intimacy
fellowship
a sense of community and fellowship
familiarity
The enemy would always have the advantage of familiarity with the rugged terrain.
companionship
social contact
cognizance
conversance
conversancy
Opposites
ignorance
,
unfamiliarity
Quotations
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? [Robert Burns – Auld Lang Syne]I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintance [Samuel Johnson]acquaintance: a person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to [Ambrose Bierce – The Devil's Dictionary]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ally
Definition
a country, person, or group with an agreement to support another
She is a close ally of the Prime Minister.
Synonyms
partner,
friend,
colleague,
associate,
mate (informal),
or blud">blood or blud (British, slang),
accessory,
comrade,
helper,
collaborator,
accomplice,
confederate,
co-worker,
main man (slang, US),
bedfellow,
cobber (Australian, New Zealand, old-fashioned, informal),
coadjutor (rare),
abettor,
E hoa (New Zealand)
in the sense of association
Definition
friendship
The association between the two companies stretches back 30 years.