Associate vs. Friend — What's the Difference?

To connect in the mind or imagination

A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

To connect or involve with a cause, group, or partner

A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.

To correlate or connect logically or causally

A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

To join in or form a league, union, or association

One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement

To spend time socially; keep company

Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.

A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or colleague.

(Informal) To add (someone) as a friend on a social networking website.

An employee, especially one in a subordinate position,

(Archaic) To befriend.

A companion; a comrade.

A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.

One that habitually accompanies or is associated with another; an attendant circumstance.

An associate who provides assistance.

A member of an institution or society who is granted only partial status or privileges.

A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.

Joined with another or others and having equal or nearly equal status

A person who backs or supports something.

Having partial status or privileges

(informal) An object or idea that can be used for good.

Following or accompanying; concomitant.

Used as a form of address when warning someone.

Joined with another or others and having lower status.

(object-oriented programming) A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.

Having partial status or privileges.

(climbing) A spring-loaded camming device.

Following or accompanying; concomitant.

(euphemistic) A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Connected by habit or sympathy.

A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.

A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner.

To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.

Somebody with whom one works, coworker, colleague.

(transitive) To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.

A companion; a comrade.

One who entertains for another such sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection that he seeks his society and welfare; a wellwisher; an intimate associate; sometimes, an attendant.

One that habitually accompanies or is associated with another; an attendant circumstance.

One not inimical or hostile; one not a foe or enemy; also, one of the same nation, party, kin, etc., whose friendly feelings may be assumed. The word is some times used as a term of friendly address.

A member of an institution or society who is granted only partial status or privileges.

One who looks propitiously on a cause, an institution, a project, and the like; a favorer; a promoter; as, a friend to commerce, to poetry, to an institution.

(algebra) One of a pair of elements of an integral domain (or a ring) such that the two elements are divisible by each other (or, equivalently, such that each one can be expressed as the product of the other with a unit).

One of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers.

(intransitive) To join in or form a league, union, or association.

A paramour of either sex.

(intransitive) To spend time socially; keep company.

To act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend.

To join as a partner, ally, or friend.

A person you know well and regard with affection and trust;

(transitive) To connect or join together; combine.

An associate who provides assistance;

(transitive) To connect evidentially, or in the mind or imagination.

A person with whom you are acquainted;

To endorse.

A person who backs a politician or a team etc.;

(mathematics) To be associative.

A member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)

To accompany; to be in the company of.

To join with one, as a friend, companion, partner, or confederate; as, to associate others with us in business, or in an enterprise.

To join or connect; to combine in acting; as, particles of gold associated with other substances.

To connect or place together in thought.

To accompany; to keep company with.

To unite in company; to keep company, implying intimacy; as, congenial minds are disposed to associate.

To unite in action, or to be affected by the action of a different part of the body.

Closely connected or joined with some other, as in interest, purpose, employment, or office; sharing responsibility or authority; as, an associate judge.

Admitted to some, but not to all, rights and privileges; as, an associate member.

Connected by habit or sympathy; as, associate motions, such as occur sympathetically, in consequence of preceding motions.

A companion; one frequently in company with another, implying intimacy or equality; a mate; a fellow.

A partner in interest, as in business; or a confederate in a league.

One connected with an association or institution without the full rights or privileges of a regular member; as, an associate of the Royal Academy.

Anything closely or usually connected with another; an concomitant.

A person who joins with others in some activity;

A person who is frequently in the company of another;

Any event that usually accompanies or is closely connected with another;

A degree granted by a two-year college on successful completion of the undergraduates course of studies

Make a logical or causal connection;

Keep company with; hang out with;

Bring or come into association or action;

Having partial rights and privileges or subordinate status;