intimates

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of intimate.

   The duchess kept a small circle of intimates who knew her real opinions.

   Among his intimates he was relaxed and quick to laugh.

   Note

   Two quite different groups share this plural. One is the trusted friends around a person. The other, on a shop sign or in a catalog, is women's underwear, sleepwear and lingerie. The friendship sense usually comes with a possessor, as in her intimates or among his intimates. The retail sense names a category of goods. The same spelling also serves as the verb meaning 'hints', so the surrounding grammar shows which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of intimate.

   The report intimates a connection between the two events without proving one.

   Her raised eyebrow intimates more skepticism than her polite reply admits.

   Note

   The present-tense form used with he, she, it or a singular noun: the report intimates, her silence intimates. Usually it means suggesting something discreetly rather than stating it. It can take an object naming what is hinted, or stand without one. In Indian English it can also simply mean "notifies," a plain administrative use with none of the discretion the hinting sense carries.

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