acquaint

verb

ac·​quaint ə-ˈkwānt How to pronounce acquaint (audio)
acquainted; acquainting; acquaints

transitive verb

1
: to cause to know personally
was acquainted with the mayor
2
: to make familiar : to cause to know firsthand
acquainting the new employees with their responsibilities
She took a few days to acquaint herself with the facts of the case.
Choose the Right Synonym for acquaint

inform, acquaint, apprise, notify mean to make one aware of something.

inform implies the imparting of knowledge especially of facts or occurrences.

informed us of the crisis

acquaint lays stress on introducing to or familiarizing with.

acquaint yourself with the keyboard

apprise implies communicating something of special interest or importance.

keep us apprised of the situation

notify implies sending notice of something requiring attention or demanding action.

notified the witness when to appear

Examples of acquaint in a Sentence

This class is designed to acquaint students with the region's most important writers. Mr. King spent the first week of the summer internship acquainting everyone with the new computers.
Recent Examples on the Web Irvine Police Department authorities previously said the two men were acquainted and suspected that the shooting was targeted. Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024 Choosing testers who are acquainted with the editors and vary in experience was intentional, according to Everdeen Mason, the editorial director of New York Times Games. Deb Amlen, New York Times, 20 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for acquaint 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acquaint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acoynten, aqueynten, borrowed from Anglo-French acuinter, acointer, aqueinter, going back to Vulgar Latin *accognitāre, frequentative formation from the base of Latin accognōscere "to recognize," from ad- ad- + cognōscere "to get to know" — more at cognition, quaint

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of acquaint was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near acquaint

Cite this Entry

“Acquaint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acquaint. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

acquaint

verb
ac·​quaint ə-ˈkwānt How to pronounce acquaint (audio)
1
: to cause to know socially
became acquainted at school
2
: to cause to know firsthand : inform
acquaint her with her duties

More from Merriam-Webster on acquaint

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