The difference betweeen a friend and an aqcuaintance

This might seem a funny question to ask or problem to have but I really need help on sorting this out. I would like you to help me by giving your definition of both friends and aquaintances. I have my own but i am a bit (Emote: confusedpurple) all the same and also i feel i be missing some vital clue out. I need to know because I have mistaken aquaintances for friends in the past(Emote: shake) and I feel I may have made the same mistake again with some one so i need help to sort out the two. Thanks

I'd say its to do with sharing emotions & your personal life.

Your closest friends are people you are emotional intimate with, you share feeling of love, anger, hope etc.

Friends are people you share some emotional experiences with. A "friend" against "close friend" is more likely to be someone you share social experiences with, but probably not feeling.

Acquaintances are people you know and probably connect with in a limited context. They could be a neighbour you don't socialise with, work colleagues you don't discuss your personal life with, family friends etc.

Good descriptions diaspar (Emote: smile)

Thanks

Thanks for the post diaspar. I've had problems recognising these differences as well. Sometimes don't recognise people as being friends when maybe they are.

Its something I've only looked into recently. In my own case I have often felt friendless but there have been more opportunities to develop from acquaintances to friends then I realise.

This has been particularly true at work where I've developed close bonds in the workplace, people have opened up to me and there has been mutual empathy. However, I didn't share my feelings.

Sometimes you might think someone is getting too personal - telling you something about themselves. Thats often a cue for you to listen, empathise and then recipracate. Or not obviously if you don't really want to be friends. What I'm trying to be more aware of, is whether anxiety is holding me back from developing friendships. I think in the past I made friends easier because of lengthy exposure to people and perhaps they perservered with me.