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

Time-wise, their seasons were far apart, but both are part of the famously close Bachelor Nation and were well acquainted before Special Forces. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 16 Jan. 2025

Spend half a day getting acquainted with this colorful Caribbean city, grabbing a fresh snack at the Kingstown Produce Market before marveling at the charming architecture on Bay Street. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2024

And while you may be well acquainted with Whispering Angel from Chateau d’Esclans, the esteemed producer from Provence, there are other significantly more posh offerings in their portfolio such as Les Clans and Garrus. —Elycia Rubin, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

While members of Gen Alpha have become acquainted with smart technology and artificial intelligence, Gen Beta will experience AI and automation in every aspect of life, from school to work to healthcare and entertainment, McCrindle says. —Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2025

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