Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use intimate in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Intimate means closely acquainted; familiar. Example: “He and his sister deeply valued their intimate relationship as they didn't have much else to live for.”

Examples of intimate by meaning

adjectiveClosely acquainted; familiar.

  • an intimate friend
  • He and his sister deeply valued their intimate relationship as they didn't have much else to live for.
  • WE are such intimate friends that more than almost anyone else you can appreciate the grief as well as the actual public and private loss that the death of my cousin Lucius is to me.1920, Cicero, translated by Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh, The Letters of Cicero: The Whole Extant Correspondence in Chronological Order...

adjectivePersonal; private.

  • an intimate setting

adjectivePertaining to sex organs or underwear.

  • Intimate apparel departments have separate sections for bras and panties; within those sections, our intimate apparel firm would have its bras displayed separately from its panties.2017 [2014], Elizabeth K. Briody, Ken C. Erickson, “Success despite the silos: System-wide innovation and collaboration”, in Maryann...

adjectivePertaining to sexual acts or a sexual relationship.

  • She enjoyed some intimate time alone with her husband.

adjectivePertaining to details that require great familiarity to know.

  • The candidate showed an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of politics.
  • Grélard et al.⁸⁷ determined the intimate structure of pseudoviral particles of hepatitis B subvirus using solid-state NMR, light scattering, and cryo-electron microscopy.2015, Slawomir Pikula, Joanna Bandorowicz-Pikula, Patrick Groves, “NMR of lipids”, in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, volume 44, Cambridge...
  • Harry and David spent most of their childhood outside, developing an intimate knowledge of the animals, waterways, and plant life of Mid Wales.2026 May, Cyrus Dunham, “Nature's Way”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 106

adjectiveVery finely mixed.

  • Black powder consists of an intimate mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur.

nounA very close friend.

  • Only a couple of intimates had ever read his writing.

nounWomen's underwear, sleepwear, or lingerie, especially offered for sale in a store.

  • You'll find bras and panties in the intimates section upstairs.

More sentences with intimate

  • While Stern chastised Vogel for on Thursday calling the Heat "the biggest flopping team in the NBA," he did intimate that he sees merit in the sentiment.From the entry flop
  • Liminal spaces can be both comforting and discomforting, nostalgic and unsettling, intimate and unnatural.2022 November 1, Jake Pitre, “The Eerie Comfort of Liminal Spaces”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The…. From the entry liminal space
  • 'An intimate photo has been posted on your cloned Facebook page,' says Greg.2021 July 28, Ruby Speechley, The Face At The Window: A gripping, twisty thriller you won't be able to put down, Hera books Ltd, →ISBN…. From the entry facebook
  • The couple’s romance, captured with intimate closeups and accompanied by a jaunty Europop soundtrack, is rapturous.2020 October 13, Beatrice Loayza, “Jack London gets an Italian makeover in the tragic and romantic Martin Eden”, in The A.V. Club…. From the entry happily ever after
  • Without going into intimate details, Eloise and I have become an ‘item’.2020 October 29, Christopher E. Metzger, The Rat Papers: Leaked and Almost Completely Redacted, AuthorHouse, →ISBN. From the entry chumpette
  • And our deepthroaters intimate that Max was friendly with many pirate clans.2018, Christopher Hinz, The Paratwa Saga: Liege-Killer, Ash Ock, and The Paratwa. From the entry deepthroater
  • Roger's Death was a more intimate and a more desolating event than the death of Lytton.2017, Quentin Bell, Virginia Woolf: A Biography, page cxl. From the entry desolating
  • An overwhelming majority of tulpamancers develop strong and intimate bonds with their systemmates.2017, Jacob J. Isler, “Tulpas and Mental Health: A Study of Non-Traumagenic Plural Experiences”, in Research in Psychology and Behavioral…. From the entry systemmate
  • No matter how much one denies it, there is always some hesitance when shooting an intimate scene.2016 May 6, Times of India. From the entry hesitance
  • It's better than a yard of satin.' Her expression reflected intimate familiarity with a glass of gin.2014, Richard Gordon, The Private Life Of Jack The Ripper, page 99. From the entry yard of satin
  • What on earth was she doing standing there watching something so intimate, so private?2011, Serenity Woods, Surrender Your Heart, Noble Romance Publishing. From the entry pleasure oneself
  • The twelve string rings out but Jimi’s voice is sotto, intimate.2008, David Henderson, ‛Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky: Jimi Hendrix, Voodoo Child, page 192. From the entry sotto
  • Despite the needs, many residents say they love the town for its intimate and unfrenetic feel.2008 May 13, Erik Eckholm, “A Tax Quirk Holds Out Promise for a Hard-Pressed Town”, in New York Times. From the entry unfrenetic
  • Two weeks ago, Mr Davies intimated to Mr Brown that he was ready to cross the floor.2007 June 27, Philip Webster, Francis Elliott, “How Brown led his latest recruit across the floor”, in Times of London, retrieved 09 Nov…. From the entry cross the floor
  • Yet umlessness was taught as the norm for private and intimate spheres of life.2007, Michael Erard, Um... slips, stumbles, and verbal blunders, and what they mean. From the entry umlessness
  • In no time they fired away all the gory intimate details, down to his rose tattoo.2006, Charlotte Wilson, The Greatest Man I Never Met, page 70. From the entry gory
  • Three weeks later, she let him fill a more intimate cavity.2005, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, What You Won't Do for Love, published 2006, →ISBN, page 10. From the entry fill
  • Streetlamps started to flicker tentatively—yellow buds, intimating the arrival of the full glow.1995, Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, Part 11, p. 513. From the entry arrival
  • Slower as the river became more intimate; reeds at the edge almost within touching distance.1992, Mairi Hedderwick, Highland Journey: A Sketching Tour of Scotland: Retracing the Steps of Victorian Artist John T. Reid, Edinburgh…. From the entry stalkily
  • Is it the intimate ambience — more intime, more revealing — than larger stage productions?1988 April 9, Gordon Gottlieb, “The Urban Gay Camp and Croon”, in Gay Community News, page 11. From the entry intime
  • They tried to intimate their disapproval by pronouncing his name very distinctly when they addressed him.1944, Mazo de la Roche, The Building of Jalna, Dundurn Press Ltd, published 2009, →ISBN, page 163. From the entry bobby
  • Jane seems to think this a profitable bargain and, while noncommital about gains, intimates they are prospering.1939, Anne Winn Stevens, All Our Folks was Farmers. From the entry noncommital
  • Not to spoil his pleasure she allowed him the most intimate contrectations, stopping short only at cunnilingus.1916, American journal of urology and sexology, volume 12, page 165. From the entry contrectation
  • He was ‘air-tight,’ close-mouthed, and had but few confidants or intimate friends, but numerous acquaintances.1915 April, Annals of Iowa, Historical Department of Iowa, series 3, volume 12, page 599. From the entry airtight
  • Justice Shallow was on very free and intimate terms with his common serving-men.1900 July 8, “Moral and Intellectual Contagion. (Obsercations of a Philosophical Friend.)”, in The Richmond Dispatch, number 15,368…. From the entry justice-like
  • Unless an event is highly intimate, says Taseer, “you cast a pall” when you announce your departure to the group.2026 July 7, Rose Courteau, “How to Be a Good Guest at a Dinner Party”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry cast a pall
  • The people in these commercials are motivated by laziness and incuriosity, even when it comes to the most intimate of concerns.2025 June 25, Ismail Muhammad, “Why Does Every Commercial for A.I. Think You’re a Moron?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry incuriosity
  • Furthermore, the concept of "ascension" highlights incels' fixation on intimate relationships as the ultimate source of social fulfillment.2024, S. Verhoef, "Defining female involuntary celibacy: a data-driven study on/r/trufemcels", thesis submitted to Tilburg University…. From the entry ascension

Meaning of intimate

  1. adjective Closely acquainted; familiar.
  2. adjective Personal; private.
  3. adjective Pertaining to sex organs or underwear.

Full definition of intimate

Questions about intimate in a sentence

How do you use intimate in a sentence?
Intimate is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “He and his sister deeply valued their intimate relationship as they didn't have much else to live for.”
What is a short sentence with intimate?
“an intimate friend”
What does intimate mean?
Intimate means closely acquainted; familiar.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: intimate (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use intimate in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/intimate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.