Schmoozed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Spoke informally and pleasantly with others to establish or improve social or business connections
2. Chatted in a friendly and casual way to foster goodwill or advance personal interests
3. Participated in relaxed conversation that aims to create favorable impressions or gain influence

Etymology: "Schmoozed" is the past tense of "schmooze," which began as a Yiddish word meaning to chat. Yiddish "shmues" comes from the Hebrew "sh'mu'ot," meaning news or reports, so the original sense was simply talking things over, passing along news and gossip. The idea of informal conversation grew into the sense of working a room, and in its current meaning, to cultivate useful contacts through friendly talk. The German "schmusen" is a close relative, but it leans affectionate, meaning "to cuddle," and older German also used it for flirting and flattering. The two words split apart from a shared root in Yiddish and German, so one carries romance while the other carries business.

Synonyms: conversed, chatted, cajoled, networked, mingled

Antonyms: ignored, snubbed, disregarded, avoided