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 of acquaint

• introduce
• educate
• familiarize

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

Madonna apparently didn’t need to spend much time getting acquainted with the place. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 2 Oct. 2026

The bonus was getting Pitre, whom the Mets acquired from Tampa Bay at the deadline, a chance to get slightly acquainted with Citi Field. — Will Sammon, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2026

The sizable number of offerings in every box can help bean novices get acquainted with new products and strengthen their bond with favorites. — Rebecca Firkser, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Sep. 2026

If your eyes have ever watered at the price of a pre-packaged sandwich at Tesco, let alone the price of rent in London, you’ll be well acquainted with the financial anxieties that stage this narrative. — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026

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

Rhymes for acquaint

• complaint
• constraint
• distraint
• repaint
• restraint
• faint
• feint
• maint
• paint
• plaint
• quaint
• saint

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