Meanings
present singular third person fraternizes · participle present fraternizing · participle past fraternized · past fraternized · alternative fraternise
- intransitiveTo associate as friends with an enemy, in violation of duty.
1 more example
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.
1920, Mary Heaton Vorse, Growing Up - intransitiveTo socialize in confidentiality.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbbe on friendly terms with someone, as if with a brother, especially with an enemy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchfraterniser
- Englishfraternize
PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr From French fraterniser.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian побратимявам се
- побратимявам се (pobratimjavam se)to associate with others in a brotherly manner
Catalan fraternitzar
- fraternitzarto associate with others in a brotherly manner
Esperanto interfratiĝi
- interfratiĝito associate with others in a brotherly manner
Finnish veljeillä, veljeillä
- veljeilläto associate with others in a brotherly manner
- veljeilläto associate as friends with an enemy
French fraterniser, fraterniser
- fraterniserto associate with others in a brotherly manner
- fraterniserto associate as friends with an enemy
German sich verbrüdern, fraternisieren
- sich verbrüdernto associate with others in a brotherly manner
- fraternisierento associate as friends with an enemy
Māori whakauruuru
- whakauruuruto associate with others in a brotherly manner
Polish bratać się, zbratać się
- bratać sięto associate with others in a brotherly manner
- zbratać sięto associate with others in a brotherly manner
Romanian fraterniza, înfrăți
- fraternizato associate with others in a brotherly manner
- înfrățito associate with others in a brotherly manner
Russian брататься
- брататься (bratatʹsja)to associate with others in a brotherly manner
Spanish fraternizar
- fraternizarto associate with others in a brotherly manner
Swedish förbrödra, fraternisera
- förbrödrato associate with others in a brotherly manner
- fraterniserato associate as friends with an enemy
Cite this entry
fraternize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fraternize
“fraternize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fraternize. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fraternize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fraternize.
Source: fraternize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.