Spending time with someone as a friend or equal, especially someone you're not supposed to be friendly with.
From Latin 'fraternus' (brotherly), related to 'frater' (brother). The word originally meant to treat someone as a brother, then came to mean socializing informally.
The military got really upset about soldiers 'fraternizing with the enemy' because brotherhood—literally what the word means—was considered dangerous when it crossed political or national lines, showing how language reveals what societies feared.
Historically applied asymmetrically: women's socializing with men coded as sexual or morally suspect; men's socializing neutral. Military/institutional contexts enforced rules against officer-enlisted 'fraternization', with harsher penalties for women.
Use 'socializing', 'associating', or 'collaborating' for neutral interaction; specify context when hierarchy or power imbalance exists.
["socializing","associating","collaborating"]
Women's right to freely associate has been historically restricted under fraternization rules; gendered enforcement reflects deeper control patterns.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.