confidential

[ kon-fi-den-shuhl ]

adjective

1. spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret:

   a confidential remark.

   Synonyms: private, restricted

2. indicating confidence or intimacy; imparting private matters:

   a confidential tone of voice.

   Synonyms: familiar, intimate

3. having another's trust or confidence; entrusted with secrets or private affairs:

   a confidential secretary.

   Synonyms: private, trustworthy

4. (of information, a document, etc.)
   1. bearing the classification confidential, usually being above restricted and below secret.
   2. limited to persons authorized to use information, documents, etc., so classified. Compare classification ( def 5 ).

confidential

/ ˌkɒnfɪˈdɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. spoken, written, or given in confidence; secret; private
2. entrusted with another's confidence or secret affairs

   a confidential secretary

3. suggestive of or denoting intimacy

   a confidential approach

Derived Forms

• ˌconfiˈdentially, adverb
• ˌconfiˌdentiˈality, noun

Other Words From

• confi·denti·ali·ty confi·dential·ness noun
• confi·dential·ly adverb
• noncon·fi·dential adjective
• noncon·fi·dential·ly adverb
• noncon·fi·dential·ness noun
• noncon·fi·denti·ali·ty noun
• quasi-confi·dential adjective
• quasi-confi·dential·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of confidential¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin confīdenti(a) confidence + -al ¹

Synonym Study

See familiar.

Example Sentences

Among the documents he shared was confidential information about the war in Ukraine.

From BBC

Sir Mark's comments came at an event hosted by the charity Crimestoppers, which provides confidential ways of giving the police information.

From BBC

A county spokesperson said the findings will remain confidential until the deal closes.

From Los Angeles Times

The complaint alleges the company in 2021 barred employees from creating a Slack channel called #community-pay-equity and prohibited workers from discussing the financial incentives Apple uses to reach sales goals by claiming the topic included “confidential and proprietary information.”

From Los Angeles Times

McLaren were fined $100m and excluded from the constructors' championship after being found guilty of having confidential Ferrari documents.

From BBC

Related Words

• classified
• hush-hush
• intimate
• private