Intimate vs intimate

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Grammarist

Intimate and intimate  are two words that are spelled identically but are pronounced differently and have different meanings, which makes them heteronyms. We will examine the definitions of the words intimate and intimate, where these words came from, and a few examples of their use in sentences. 

Intimate (IN tih mutt) may be used as an adjective to mean familiar, physically or emotionally close, very friendly, or deeply connected. Intimate may describe a feeling evoked by a setting or a thing or the relationship between two people. Intimate is used as a noun to mean someone who one is close to emotionally. The word intimate is derived from the Latin word, intimus, which means the innermost or most profound.

Intimate (IN tih mayt) is a verb that means to say something indirectly or to suggest or imply something. The word intimate is derived from the Latin word, intimatus, which means to make known. Related words are intimates, intimated, intimating, intimation.

Examples

Good thing, too, because many of Bridgers’ songs are hushed acoustic numbers that come across like frank, intimate, bedroom confessions. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

The intimate cannabis-infused dining experience allows guests to microdose, or ingest small doses at a time, and control their portions. (Phoenix Magazine)

“He did well there on loan last season, and it was intimated to me during the summer that they wanted to take him back,” Warne told the Rotherham Advertiser. (Wigan Today)

He intimates that Sibanda is a more ‘professional’ soldier than Chiwenga who Mnangagwa trusts will not carry out a coup – a contentious assertion, given than Sibanda participated in the 2017 coup. (Zimbabwe Independent)