Friend vs. Acquaintance
Main DifferencePeople around you in society hold different roles in your life, they can either be less or more important but one can’t deny their inclusion and presence in life. From a guard to your office boss, you are directly or indirectly connected with these people and they have a certain task or work in your life. Friends and Acquaintances are two of the prominent relations in your life apart from your family. They can easily be differentiated as a friend is the person you have a bond of mutual affection and is quite close to you as he/she knows your intimate details, secrets, weaknesses, and is even aware of your point of view and mottos, whereas, an acquaintance is someone who generally knows you (not in much detail) and shares some space or time with you.
Difference Between Friend and Acquaintance
Friend vs. Acquaintance
Friend is the person you have a bond of mutual affection and is quite close to you as he/she knows your intimate details, secrets, weaknesses, and is even aware of your point of view and mottos, whereas, an acquaintance is someone who generally knows you (not in much detail) and shares some space or time with you.
Friend vs. Acquaintance
Friend know more deeply about you than the acquaintance.
Friend vs. Acquaintance
Friends often go outing or spend dedicated time with each other, whereas that doesn't happens in acquaintances.
Friend vs. Acquaintance
Friends have informal talks with each other, while acquaintances mostly have formal talks.
Friend vs. Acquaintance
A Friend can either ask or give you a favor when needed, whereas it rarely happens in case of acquaintance.
Friendnoun
A person other than a family member, spouse or lover whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college.Trust is important between friends.I used to find it hard to make friends when I was shy.Acquaintancenoun
(uncountable) A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of friendship or intimacy; acquaintanceship.
I know of the man; but have no acquaintance with him.Friendnoun
A boyfriend or girlfriend.
Acquaintancenoun
(countable) A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
Friendnoun
An associate who provides assistance.
The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend.The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.Acquaintancenoun
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
Friendnoun
A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted
a friend of a friend;I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly knowAcquaintancenoun
a relationship less intimate than friendship
Friendnoun
A person who backs or supports something.
I’m not a friend of cheap wine.Acquaintancenoun
a person with whom you are acquainted;
I have trouble remembering the names of all my acquaintanceswe are friends of the familyFriendnoun
(informal) An object or idea that can be used for good.
Wiktionary is your friend.Friendnoun
Used as a form of address when warning someone.
You’d better watch it, friend.Friendnoun
(object-oriented programming) A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
Friendnoun
(climbing) A spring-loaded camming device.
Friendnoun
(obsolete) A paramour of either sex.
Friendverb
To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
Friendverb
(transitive) To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.
Friendnoun
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust;
he was my best friend at the universityFriendnoun
an associate who provides assistance;
he's a good ally in fightthey were friends of the workersFriendnoun
a person with whom you are acquainted;
I have trouble remembering the names of all my acquaintanceswe are friends of the familyFriendnoun
a person who backs a politician or a team etc.;
all their supporters came out for the gamethey are friends of the libraryFriendnoun
a member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)
Comparison Chart
| Friend | Acquaintance |
| Friend is the person you have a bond of mutual affection and is quite close to you as he/she knows your intimate details. | Acquaintance is someone who generally knows you (not in much detail) and shares some space or time with you. |
| Outing | |
| Often | Rarely |
| Formal or In-formal | |
| Friends have informal talks with each other. | Acquaintances mostly have formal talks. |
| Favor | |
| A Friend can either ask or give you a favor when needed. | Rarely happens. |
What is Friend?
A friend is the person who holds bond of mutual affection with you and always stands with you in every thick and thin. One relies on his friends heavily as he/she shares all his secrets, weaknesses, and intimate details with them. It can be that they even spend lesser time with you than the acquaintances, though they have a dedicated time with you as they specially visit your home or go outing with you. The one-on-one long talks for sharing experiences, and feelings are the core interests of friends. A Friend can either ask or give you a favor when needed. He/she stands along with you in every hard time and even enjoys with you in your good time at its fullest.
What is Acquaintance?
The person who slightly knows about you but is not your friend as you are not that much open to him/her and most of the time just have formal talks while hanging out or sharing space. The colleagues and the class fellows are the best example of acquaintances. You share some space with them but you don’t have mutual understanding with them. A colleague or class fellow can either be your friend, but many of them are just your acquaintances as you just interact with them just because they share space with you. The acquaintances didn’t come up with dedicated time for you at your place an not even have outing plans with you generally.
