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View synonyms for private

private

[prahy-vit]

adjective

  1. belonging to some particular person.

    private property.

  2. pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal.

    for your private satisfaction.

    Antonyms: public, general
  3. confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential.

    a private meeting.

  4. personal and not publicly expressed.

    one's private feelings.

  5. not holding public office or employment.

    private citizens.

  6. not of an official or public character; unrelated to one's official job or position.

    a former senator who has returned to private life;

    a college president speaking in his private capacity as a legal expert.

  7. removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret.

    private papers.

  8. not open or accessible to the general public.

    a private beach.

  9. undertaken individually or personally.

    private research.

  10. without the presence of others; alone.

    Let's go into another room where we can be private.

    Synonyms: retired
  11. solitary; secluded.

    He wants to meet us in a more private place.

  12. preferring privacy; retiring.

    a very private person.

  13. intimate; most personal.

    private behavior.

  14. of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, especially a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours.

    a private room;

    a private patient.

  15. of lowest military rank.

  16. of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources.

    private funding.



noun

  1. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.

  2. privates. private parts.

private

/ ˈpraɪvɪt /

adjective

  1. not widely or publicly known

    they had private reasons for the decision

  2. confidential; secret

    a private conversation

  3. not for general or public use

    a private bathroom

  4. (prenominal) individual; special

    my own private recipe

  5. (prenominal) having no public office, rank, etc

    a private man

  6. (prenominal) denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank

    a private soldier

  7. of, relating to, or provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body

    the private sector

    private housing

  8. (of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked

  9. (of a person) reserved; uncommunicative

  10. in secret; confidentially

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps

    private first class

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • privately adverb
  • privateness noun
  • quasi-private adjective
  • quasi-privately adverb
  • unprivate adjective
  • unprivately adverb
  • unprivateness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of private1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prīvātus “private,” literally, “taken away (from public affairs),” special use of past participle of prīvāre “to rob”; deprive, -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of private1

C14: from Latin prīvātus belonging to one individual, withdrawn from public life, from prīvāre to deprive, bereave
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in private, not publicly; secretly.

    The hearing will be conducted in private.

More idioms and phrases containing private

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He added he was phoned twice, and then received a series of emails which included photos of Miss Wandelt's grandfather alongside a suspect in the disappearance, and private photos of the Payne and McCann families.

Read more on BBC

He also works with a private physiotherapist on recovery at home.

Read more on BBC

S&P Global struck a deal to buy markets data and analytics firm With Intelligence for $1.8 billion, expanding its data coverage and reach across private markets.

Apollo submitted an offer within the last week to take the pizza chain private at $64 a share, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Read more on Barron's

“From my understanding, private insurance is in it for their numbers and dollars, and they will make it really hard to get things I need to get for myself,” Hutchison said.

Read more on MarketWatch

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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