"Familiar" is an amazing word that can be both a noun and an adjective. Therefore, the search for meaning promises to be boring. After all, this is what we always strive for. As always, the meaning of the word, synonyms are expected and we will devote a little time to determining the place of the familiar in the hierarchy of human relations. But let's start with the main thing.
Meaning
An interesting detail of the word we are considering is that “familiar” is a whole encryption if a person does not want or cannot reveal the fullness of the relationship with the one he met, using legal dictionaries, in the presence of third parties. Suppose a man stumbles upon his ex-girlfriend with a girlfriend in a public place, and he is already with his "real". To be polite, he talks for a while, keeps up the conversation, then the "past" with the "makeweight" goes home. Genuine and true love, that is, a real girl, may ask: “Who is this?”. To which you can safely answer:"Familiar". And it's not a lie.
But the explanatory dictionary probably has its own answer to the main question about the meaning of the word, let's see it:
- The one that was known before, the famous one.
- Knowing, having experienced something.
- A person someone is dating (in the second meaning).
Let's immediately, before anyone loses patience and interest, let's reveal the second meaning of the word "acquaintance": "Relationships between people who know each other." As you can see, everything is more or less neutral. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the concepts of "friend", "buddy" and "acquaintance". This is what we will do in the next section.
Between friend and stranger
We are entering a zone of extreme subjectivity, and the dictionary is no help here. Because he won't tell you the difference between a friend and a buddy. Not only as concepts, but also in a purely human sense. Although everyone, probably, in depth understands the difference. You can spend time with a friend, but the most intimate people share (if they share) only with friends.
The dictionary says that a friend is "a close or friendly acquaintance." A friend is defined in the dictionary as "a person who is associated with someone in friendship." In other words, no poetry - just the harsh truth of life.
It is clear that such formulations do not explain anything. But on the other hand, they partly reveal the meaning of "acquaintance". This is the person whose location you do not know anything about. When he meets you, he recognizes you, and you recognize him. You can even contact him if there are anyproblems, and he will probably even help. But there is nothing more to say about the relationship. When you can confidently say that a relationship with a person is deeper than such an interaction, then he is either a friend or a friend.
Sentences and synonyms
Of course, the previous discussion may have been a little more than we planned. But the reader is free to take from it what he needs, and mentally discard the rest. An excess is not a deficiency. When there is not enough, there is nowhere to take from.
But let's put that aside and look at the sentences with the object of study:
- Yes, this text is familiar to me. I don't need to look at the cover to know Stephen King's style.
- The suffering of this man is well known, because he had a rather difficult life.
- Don't worry, we'll get you the best possible paperwork. I have an acquaintance at the consulate.
In the final, we will provide synonyms for "acquaintance":
- usual;
- famous;
- knowing;
- competent;
- informed;
- buddy.
The last noun is included in the list so that the noun "acquaintance" has at least some synonym, but we remember that "friend" and "acquaintance" cannot be called analogues in the full sense of the word. We discussed the subtleties of the definition a little higher. What can you say goodbye? If you have at least an acquaintance, it's already good, because even with him you can talk.
