How do you define intimacy?

I  have a question for you guys.  How do you define intimacy?  Merriam Webster defines intimacy as “familiarity, something of a personal or private nature” and it points to synonyms “belonging, chumminess, closeness, inseparability, familiarity, and nearness.”  Wikipedia states “Intimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of a bond that is formed through knowledge and experience of the other. Genuine intimacy in human relationships requires dialogue, transparency, vulnerability, and reciprocity.”  Wikipedia also points to “four different forms of intimacy: physical, emotional, cognitive, and experiential.” 

Physical intimacy is sensual proximity or touching.  Examples include being inside someone's personal space, holding hands, hugging, kissing, caressing, and other sexual activity. Emotional intimacy typically develops after a certain level of trust has been reached and personal bonds have been established… Cognitive or intellectual intimacy takes place when two people exchange thoughts, share ideas and enjoy similarities and differences between their opinions. If they can do this in an open and comfortable way, they can become quite intimate in an intellectual area. Experiential intimacy is when two people get together to actively involve themselves with each other, probably saying very little to each other, not sharing any thoughts or many feelings, but being involved in mutual activities with one another.

One of my favorite descriptions of intimacy is “into me see.”  And of course there should be some reciprocation to reinforce the intimacy.

But wait a minute, all this talk of intimacy and sex is only mentioned one time?  Isn’t intimacy synonymous with sex?  Well, no, it’s not, actually.  Sex, if done right, in my humble opinion, should be intimate.  But intimacy does not need sex.  So I’d like to impress upon you all that in understanding intimacy we are looking for sex, but so much more, as well.