fraternizing
Mingling with others
Fraternizing is associating with people you're not supposed to—typically across boundaries of rank, allegiance, or social standing.
Soldiers fraternize with the enemy when they socialize rather than fight.
Workplace policies against fraternizing usually target romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates.
The word carries a whiff of disapproval, suggesting the association violates propriety or duty: Officers caught fraternizing with enlisted personnel face discipline.
Casual social interaction
- socializingEngaging with others recreationally
- mixingCombining into one mass
- associatingMentally linking concepts
- bondingForming close connections
camaraderie · companionship · fellowship · networking · rapport · conviviality · hobnobbing · schmoozing
Hostile opposing party
- prohibitedOfficially not permitted
- court-martialArmed forces judicial proceeding
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
- treasonBetraying one's nation
collaboration · violation · soldiers · wartime · POW · opposing forces · consorting · discipline
Professional associates
- coworkersPeople at same job
- officeProfessional work location
- professional boundariesLimits in work relationships
- after-hoursBeyond regular closing
water cooler · team building · inappropriate · superior · subordinate · dating · favoritism · ethics
Playfully showing romantic interest
- datingPursuing romantic connections
- intimacyEmotional closeness between people
- attractionPull toward something
- relationshipsLinks between individuals
forbidden · secret · affair · liaison · dalliance · courtship · involvement · entanglement
mingling
Casual social interaction
- socializingEngaging with others recreationally
- mixingCombining into one mass
- associatingMentally linking concepts
bonding · camaraderie · companionship · fellowship · networking · rapport · conviviality · hobnobbing · schmoozing · consorting
enemy
Hostile opposing party
- prohibitedOfficially not permitted
- court-martialArmed forces judicial proceeding
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
treason · collaboration · violation · soldiers · wartime · POW · opposing forces · consorting · discipline · officers
colleagues
Professional associates
- coworkersPeople at same job
- officeProfessional work location
- professional boundariesLimits in work relationships
after-hours · water cooler · team building · inappropriate · superior · subordinate · dating · favoritism · ethics · conflict of interest
flirting
Playfully showing romantic interest
- datingPursuing romantic connections
- intimacyEmotional closeness between people
- attractionPull toward something
relationships · forbidden · secret · affair · liaison · dalliance · courtship · involvement · entanglement · rendezvous
fraternizingshunning
Deliberately avoiding someone
avoiding · ostracizing · snubbing · ignoring · excluding
fraternizingsegregating
Separating by category
keeping apart · standing on ceremony · separating · compartmentalizing
brotherhood, fraternity, fraternal, fraternize, fraternization, fraternizer, fraternities, confraternity, fraternalism