He is a known 'associate' of criminals. [=he is known to associate with criminals; people know that he works with or spends time with criminals]
She was promoted from assistant editor to 'associate' editor and may soon be promoted to senior editor.
He was 'associated' [='connected, identified'] 'with' a group of radicals in the government.
(..) It's not a date. It's definitely not a date. Hey, kids. How you boys doing? Hey, keep chilling. You know who we are? JULES: We're associates of your business partner... Marsellus Wallace. You do remember your business partner, don't you? JULES: (..)1994 Pulp Fiction