different between intimacy vs experience

English

Etymology

intimate +? -cy

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n.t?.m?.si/

Noun

intimacy (countable and uncountable, plural intimacies)

1. (uncountable, countable) Feeling or atmosphere of closeness and openness towards someone else, not necessarily involving sexuality.
   • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Section 13.6^[1]

     To adulterous lust the most sacred duties are sacrificed, because, before marriage, men, by a promiscuous intimacy with women, learned to consider love as a selfish gratification—learned to separate it not only from esteem, but from the affection merely built on habit, which mixes a little humanity with it.

   • 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Truth of Intercourse” in Essays, English and American, The Harvard Classics, Volume 28, edited by Charles W. Eliot, New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, p. 287,^[2]

     The habitual liar may be a very honest fellow, and live truly with his wife and friends; while another man who never told a formal falsehood in his life may yet be himself one lie—heart and face, from top to bottom. This is the kind of lie which poisons intimacy.

   • 1908, Jack London, “To Build a Fire” in Lost Face, London: Mills & Boon, 1916,^[3]

     […] there was keen intimacy between the dog and the man.
2. (countable) Intimate relationship.
   • 1787, Robert Burns, Letter to Dr. Moore, 23 April, 1787, in J. Logie Robertson (ed.), The Letters of Robert Burns, Selected and Arranged, with an Introduction, London: Walter Scott, 1887, p. 57,^[5]

     I have formed many intimacies and friendships here, but I am afraid they are all of too tender a construction to bear carriage a hundred and fifty miles.

   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, Volume I, Chapter 8,^[6]

     “I have always thought it a very foolish intimacy,” said Mr. Knightley presently, “though I have kept my thoughts to myself; but I now perceive that it will be a very unfortunate one for Harriet […] ”

   • 1899, Henry James, The Awkward Age, Book One, Chapter 2,^[7]

     “ […] it isn’t my notion of the way to bring up a girl to give her up, in extreme youth, to an intimacy with a young married woman who’s both unhappy and silly, whose conversation has absolutely no limits, who says everything that comes into her head and talks to the poor child about God only knows what […] ”

3. (countable, especially plural) Intimate detail, (item of) intimate information.
   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, 2001, Part One, Chapter 4,

     He recognized the tone as the one used by friendly sisters to discuss the infirmities of their husbands. It was Shama’s plea to a sister to exchange intimacies, to show support.

Antonyms

• solitude

Related terms

• intimate
• intimation

Translations

Anagrams

• imitancy, minacity

English

Etymology

From Middle English experience, from Old French, from Latin experientia (“a trial, proof, experiment, experimental knowledge, experience”), from experiens, present participle of experiri (“to try, put to the test, undertake, undergo”), from ex (“out”) + peritus (“experienced, expert”), past participle of *periri (“to go through”); see expert and peril.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?sp??.i.?ns/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?sp??.???ns/
• Hyphenation: ex?pe?ri?ence

Noun

experience (countable and uncountable, plural experiences)

1. The effect upon the judgment or feelings produced by any event, whether witnessed or participated in; personal and direct impressions as contrasted with description or fancies; personal acquaintance; actual enjoyment or suffering.
   • March 20, 1684-5, John Sharp, Sermon preached at Whitehall

     Those that undertook the religion of our Savior upon his preaching, had no experience of it.
2. (countable) An activity one has performed.
3. (countable) A collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.
   • 1600, Philemon Holland, The Romane Historie

     they knew soone by experience how slenderly guarded against danger, the majestie of Rulers is

   • Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer in one word, from experience.

4. (uncountable) The knowledge thus gathered.
5. (obsolete, uncountable) Trial; a test or experiment.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "experience": broad, wide, good, bad, great, amazing, horrible, terrible, pleasant, unpleasant, educational, financial, military, commercial, academic, political, industrial, sexual, romantic, religious, mystical, spiritual, psychedelic, scientific, human, magical, intense, deep, humbling, unforgettable, unique, exciting, exhilarating.

Antonyms

• inexperience

Hyponyms

• (activity one has performed): user experience

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

experience (third-person singular simple present experiences, present participle experiencing, simple past and past participle experienced)

1. (transitive) To observe certain events; undergo a certain feeling or process; or perform certain actions that may alter one or contribute to one's knowledge, opinions, or skills.

Synonyms

• undergo

Derived terms

• experienceable
• re-experience. reexperience

Translations

Further reading

• experience on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• experience at OneLook Dictionary Search
• experience in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "experience" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 126.
• experience in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• experience in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.