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to befriend

to befriend

61 3.0
To become close to someone by helping them
  • verb
  • /bɪˈfrɛnd/
translation icon : hacerse amigo de
  • She decided to befriend her new neighbor by inviting her over for coffee.
  • befriend a girl
  • befriend a woman
  • befriend and help

So Ivory is going to meet and befriend and talk with Erian.

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Examples

  • I befriended an old lady who was very rich and I took care of her estate because I was intelligent and great with numbers.

  • She goes there and she ends up befriending the people that all live around her.

  • Like I was just, can I just befriend all of you?

  • Do you think that in your lifetime you will be able to befriend an Indian or somebody like that?

  • Done nothing but befriend and encourage your quest for knowledge

  • But they also befriend Ukrainian writers, right?

  • Immediately afterward, the participants were asked about their willingness to befriend and help this child.

    Academic text (1995)
  • In his childhood, he had once befriended a little blind girl in the religious school.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The town would have to learn how to befriend tourists, I thought, how to lure rather than frighten.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • For two years, Debeir befriended adolescent girls he met in Internet chat rooms.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

to be there for
vsto befriend
  • Informal
443 2.7

To help and support someone when they are going through a hard time

takes an active role providing ongoing help beyond crisis availability
to make friends
vsto befriend
134 1.0

Begin to be friendly with someone

focuses on offering help and support rather than forming relationships

Antonyms

397 4.2

Let someone down when they need you

How Friendly

to champion
64 4.2
to befriend
61 3.0
to stand by
187 3.2
to support
753 1.4

Surface Forms

befriend infinitive
befriended past
befriended past participle
befriending present participle
befriends third person singular

Morphology

befriend = friend (transparent) = be + friend

The verb is formed by the productive English prefix 'be-' added to the noun 'friend', meaning 'to act as a friend' which is directly derivable.

Etymology

Befriend is made of the part be- meaning 'make' and friend, so it literally means to 'make someone your friend' and today it means to act as a friend or offer help and support.