fraternize

English

WOTD – 6 July 2006

Alternative forms

• fraternise (non-Oxford British spelling, used in many Commonwealth countries but not Canada)

Etymology

PIE word
*bʰréh₂tēr

From French fraterniser.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹætənaɪz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹætɚnaɪz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

fraternize (third-person singular simple present fraternizes, present participle fraternizing, simple past and past participle fraternized)

1. (intransitive) To associate with others in a brotherly or friendly manner.
2. (intransitive) To associate as friends with an enemy, in violation of duty.
   • 1920, Mary Heaton Vorse, Growing Up:

     Now in this world it is never wise to meddle with such things. It's better to leave them as they are. No one ever had any good come to him from fraternizing with too great familiarity with the unknown; and it's a very good thing that the children from The Other Side are as shy as they are, as Alice found out through Evelyn Dearie.

3. (intransitive) To socialize in confidentiality.
4. (intransitive) To have an intimate or sexual relationship with a forbidden party.

Derived terms

• fraternizable
• fraternizer
• unfraternizing

Related terms

• frat
• fraternal
• fraternisation, fraternization
• fraternity
• fraternizing
• fratricide

Translations

to associate with others in a brotherly manner

Bulgarian: побратимявам се (pobratimjavam se) Catalan: fraternitzar (ca) Esperanto: interfratiĝi Finnish: veljeillä (fi) French: fraterniser (fr) German: sich verbrüdern (de) Maori: whakauruuru Polish: bratać się (pl), zbratać się (pl) Romanian: fraterniza (ro), înfrăți (ro) Russian: брататься (ru) (bratatʹsja) Spanish: fraternizar (es) Swedish: förbrödra (sv) (reflexive)

to associate as friends with an enemy

Finnish: veljeillä (fi) French: fraterniser (fr) German: fraternisieren (de) Swedish: fraternisera (sv)

Portuguese

Verb

fraternize

1. inflection of fraternizar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative