acquaintance

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An acquaintance is someone you know casually or have met briefly. This person might be a friend of a friend or a coworker.

When people talk about their acquaintances, they often mean that these are people they see regularly at social events or work, but don't really have deep conversations with. For example, if someone says "I ran into an old acquaintance at the party last night", it usually means they bumped into someone they knew from before but not very well. You might also meet acquaintances on a trip abroad or through online communities where you share similar interests.

How common is "acquaintance"?

Word acquaintance is considered uncommon in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
Definitions

noun

  • (uncountable) A state of being acquainted with a person; originally indicating friendship, intimacy, but now suggesting a slight knowledge less deep than that of friendship; acquaintanceship.

    Example: I know of the man; but have no acquaintance with him.

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familiarityfellowshipintimacyknowledgeacquaintance

Real examples of "acquaintance" in context

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