acquaint

verb

ac·​quaint ə-ˈkwānt 

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.

Synonyms

• accustom
• familiarize
• initiate
• introduce
• orient
• orientate

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

So get acquainted with Ryan T. Nichols, a 33-year-old Texan who was a leader in Trump’s hallowed J6 Prison Choir. —Jackie Calmes, The Mercury News, 15 May 2024

While an anonymous Gossip Girl-esque columnist (voiced by Julie Andrews) dishes out the juiciest scandals in town, viewers get acquainted with the eponymous fictional family and the show's diverse array of supporting characters. —James Mercadante and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 11 May 2024

Girard and her dad — who viewers became acquainted with in Episode 11 — signed up for the establishment's in-house horseshoe league last summer. —Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 7 May 2024

Keep reading to get acquainted with the cast and characters of Bridgerton season 3 before the new episodes drop. —Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024

And later at this center she got acquainted with Oleksandr Riasnyi, a soldier who lost his limb in fighting. —Yulia Drozd, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024

In the series, the bobblehead makes an appearance early on in the pilot when viewers are getting acquainted with Vault 33. —Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024

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

Phrases Containing acquaint

• acquaint oneself with

Kids Definition

acquaint

verb

ac·​quaint ə-ˈkwānt 

1

: to cause to know socially

became acquainted at school

2

: to cause to know firsthand : inform

acquaint her with her duties