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Acquaintance: meaning, definitions and examples

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acquaintance

 

[ əˈkweɪntəns ]

Noun
Context #1 | Noun

social

A person someone knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.

Synonyms

associate, connection, contact

Examples of usage

  • He was just an acquaintance, not someone she knew well.
  • I bumped into an acquaintance at the grocery store.
Context #2 | Noun

professional

A person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend, especially in a business context.

Synonyms

colleague, connection, contact

Examples of usage

  • He had many business acquaintances in the industry.
  • She made several valuable acquaintances at the conference.

Translations

Translations of the word "acquaintance" in other languages:

🇵🇹 conhecimento

🇮🇳 परिचय

🇩🇪 Bekanntschaft

🇮🇩 kenalan

🇺🇦 знайомство

🇵🇱 znajomość

🇯🇵 知り合い

🇫🇷 connaissance

🇪🇸 conocimiento

🇹🇷 tanışma

🇰🇷 지인

🇸🇦 معرفة

🇨🇿 známost

🇸🇰 známosť

🇨🇳 熟人

🇸🇮 poznanstvo

🇮🇸 kunningi

🇰🇿 танысу

🇬🇪 ცნობილი

🇦🇿 tanışlıq

🇲🇽 conocimiento

Etymology

The word 'acquaintance' originated from the Old French word 'acointance', meaning acquaintance or familiarity. The term was first recorded in the English language in the 14th century. Over time, it has retained its meaning of a person known slightly, but not a close friend, in both social and professional contexts.

See also: acquaint, acquaintances, acquainted, reacquaint, unacquainted.

Word Frequency Rank

At #5,240 in frequency, this word belongs to advanced vocabulary. It's less common than core vocabulary but important for sophisticated expression.