rapport
ruh-POR
/ræˈpɔːr/
A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well.
Focuses heavily on smooth, effortless communication, mutual trust, and being on the same wavelength.
The story behind the word. Borrowed from French, 'rapport' comes from 'rapporter', meaning 'to bring back' or 'to refer'. It is about bringing back a harmonious echo of the other person's feelings.
Word relationships
- harmony: Harmony is a general state of agreement, while rapport is a specific, active communicative bond between people.
- discord: Discord is disagreement or lack of harmony between people.
Commonly confused with
- report: A report is a formal account or document, while rapport is a harmonious relationship.
Word family
- rapporteur (noun): A person appointed by an organization to report on its proceedings.
Collocations
- establish rapport
- build rapport
- good rapport
- excellent rapport
Example sentences
- "The teacher quickly established a warm rapport with her students, making them feel safe and eager to learn." Professional relationship building
Memory hook
Think of a 'rapport' as a 'support' beam of communication that flows back and forth. Harmonious echo
When not to use
Do not use for deep romantic love; it's more about intellectual or communicative harmony.
Fun facts
- The word entered English in the 15th century but was lost, only to be re-imported from French in the 18th century with its modern spelling and meaning.
Explore more words
camaraderie, liaison, affinity, interpersonal, rapprochement
Also appears in
- Emotions → Empathy & Compassion
- Leadership → Influence & Charisma
- Relationships → Friendship & Camaraderie
- Relationships → Professional Networking
- Business → Sales & Customer Service
- Linguistics → Commonly Confused Words: Empathy vs. Sympathy
- Psychology → Emotional Intelligence & Empathy
- Sociology & Social Anthropology → Ethnography & Field Research
- Work & Office Life → Coworkers & Office Culture
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