acquaintance
noun
ac·quain·tance
| \ ə-ˈkwān-tᵊn(t)s
\
\
Definition of acquaintance
1a
: the state of being acquainted
They had a long-standing acquaintance.
b
: personal knowledge : familiarity
had no acquaintance with the facts of the case
2a
: the persons with whom one is acquainted
Should auld acquaintance be forgot …— Robert Burns
b
: a person whom one knows but who is not a particularly close friend
a casual acquaintance
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Other Words from acquaintance
acquaintanceship
\ -ˌship
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of acquaintance in a Sentence
But Francis later found out that the dinner acquaintance who sweet-talked him got a thank-you check for three thousand pounds.
— Julian Barnes, New Yorker, 20 Sept. 1993
But all those qualities are so wrapped up in others that one could hardly ask for two men who are, at first acquaintance, more different.
— Peter Garrison, Air & Space, October/November 1991
A classical education, or at any rate a very extensive acquaintance with English literature, ancient and modern, appears to me quite indispensable for the person who would do any just to your clergyman; and I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress.
— Jane Austen, letter, 11 Dec. 1815
She ran into an old acquaintance at the grocery store.
our family's close acquaintance with our neighbors
She struck up an acquaintance with a man from the city.
He seemed cold at first, but on closer acquaintance I realized that he was just shy.
While he has some acquaintance with the subject, he is not an expert.
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Recent Examples on the Web
His enthusiasm here was ampllified because Singer was an acquaintance of Kenworthy. — Los Angeles Times, "How Rick Singer tried to rope in USC legend Pat Haden amid admissions scandal," 30 Aug. 2019 Ellerin was an acquaintance of Ashton Kutcher‘s and had plans to go on a date with him the night she was murdered. — Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE.com, "'Hollywood Ripper' Michael Gargiulo Convicted of Killing 2 Women Weeks After Ashton Kutcher Testifies," 15 Aug. 2019 The two were casual acquaintances with mutual friends, but both were newly single and planning to go out together the night Ellerin was killed. — CBS News, "Ashton Kutcher is "star witness" for accused serial killer, defense lawyer says," 8 Aug. 2019 The two were casual acquaintances with mutual friends, but both were newly single and planning to go out together the night Ellerin was killed. — Washington Post, "Defense suggests different suspect in serial killing trial," 7 Aug. 2019 Three of the victims were members of the fraternity, and the two others were acquaintances of the group, according to the lawsuit. — Safia Samee Ali, NBC News, "Missouri fraternity leader 'encouraged' five students to take their own lives, lawsuit claims," 2 Aug. 2019 The complaint alleges the resident was an acquaintance of then-Col. — Jessica Anderson, baltimoresun.com, "OIG Report: Baltimore Police marine unit misspent $30k on boat salvage," 10 July 2019 Deputies said Ennis and Mathis Jr. were acquaintances. — Lisa Maria Garza, orlandosentinel.com, "Man arrested in fatal shooting of woman at east Orange mobile home," 30 June 2019 Agee said Holder was a casual acquaintance of the victims. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al.com, "Acquaintance charged in weekend killings of Jefferson County couple," 20 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acquaintance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for acquaintance
acquaintance
noun
English Language Learners Definition of acquaintance
: someone who is known but who is not a close friend
formal
: the state of knowing someone in a personal or social way : the state of knowing someone as an acquaintance
: knowledge about something
See the full definition for acquaintance in the English Language Learners Dictionary
acquaintance
noun
ac·quain·tance
| \ ə-ˈkwān-tᵊns
\
\
Kids Definition of acquaintance
1
: a person someone knows slightly
2
: personal knowledge
He has some acquaintance with car repair.
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