intimate

As an adjective, ‘intimate’ can be applied to many contexts.

Most common, is the meaning of being close to someone, as in ‘an intimate relationship’. This has the implication of being deeply personal and very private.

Friendships can be describes as ‘intimate’ when personal insights and feelings, those that are known to only a few others, are shared.

In contrast, ‘intimate’ can also be used when a person has deep knowledge, experience and understanding of a topic. Thus a professor of mathematics is likely to have an intimate understanding of his discipline.

As a verb ' to intimate' something can either mean to proclaim information in the public domain, or to imply or hint at something about an event or a person. In this context, make sure you know which meaning is relevant.