Meaning & use
acquaintance
Last updated
UK/əˈkweɪn.təns/
US/əˈkweɪn.təns/
Meaning
nouncountable
A person you know slightly but who is not a close friend.
Grammar: Takes an or the; plural acquaintances: an acquaintance from work.
Patterns
- a casual acquaintance
- an acquaintance from somewhere
- make someone's acquaintance
He is only an acquaintance, not someone I would call at midnight.
I ran into an old acquaintance from college at the market.
Word forms
| plural | acquaintances |
|---|
Common combinations
- casual acquaintance
- A casual acquaintance offered directions when my phone died.
- old acquaintance
- An old acquaintance emailed me about the reunion.
- make someone's acquaintance
- I was pleased to make your acquaintance at the conference.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contact
- Contact suggests a useful connection; acquaintance simply means someone known slightly.
- associate
- Associate can be more formal or work-related than acquaintance.
- friend
- Friend implies closeness and trust, stronger than acquaintance.
Opposites
Word family
- acquaint verb
- To make someone or oneself familiar with something.
- acquaintanceship noun
- The state of knowing someone without close friendship.
Commonly confused: acquaintance or acquaintanceship?
acquaintance vs acquaintanceship
Acquaintance is the person; acquaintanceship is the relationship.
Practice
Which word best fits: We are not close; we are just ___.
Choose one answer.
Acquaintances are people known slightly, matching not close. Relatives and spouses imply closer or legal ties, and teammates forever is oddly absolute.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “acquaintance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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