Acquaintance: meaning, definitions and examples
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acquaintance
[ əˈkweɪntəns ]
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.
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
- conhecido
- familiaridade
🇮🇳 परिचय
- जान-पहचान
- जान-पहचान वाला
🇩🇪 Bekanntschaft
🇮🇩 kenalan
🇺🇦 знайомство
🇵🇱 znajomość
- znajomy
- zaznajomienie
🇯🇵 知り合い
🇫🇷 connaissance
🇪🇸 conocimiento
- conocido
- relación
🇹🇷 tanışma
🇰🇷 지인
- 아는 사람
- 친분
🇸🇦 معرفة
- صديق
- تعارف
🇨🇿 známost
🇸🇰 známosť
🇨🇳 熟人
- 认识
- 了解
🇸🇮 poznanstvo
🇮🇸 kunningi
🇰🇿 танысу
🇬🇪 ცნობილი
🇦🇿 tanışlıq
🇲🇽 conocimiento
- conocido
- relación
Word origin
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.