confidential communication

American  

noun

Law.

1. a confidential statement made to a lawyer, doctor, or pastor, or to one's spouse, privileged against disclosure in court if the privilege is claimed by the client, patient, penitent, or spouse.

---

Etymology

Origin of confidential communication

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Taken together, these filings depict a system where confidential communication with an attorney is structurally impossible.

From Slate • Dec. 12, 2025

The existence of a confidential communication channel between Mary and Castelnau was well-known to historians, and even to the English government at the time.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2023

NSLs are written directives from the FBI demanding confidential communication or financial transaction records.

From Washington Post • Sep. 20, 2019

Yes, the North Carolina Court of Appeals says in one case, ruling Tuesday that crying isn’t protected by confidential communication between spouses.

From Washington Times • Oct. 20, 2015

Guaras can scarcely be suspected of misrepresenting the conversation upon so important a topic and in a confidential communication to the Spanish Governor of the Netherlands.

From History of the Rise of the Huguenots Volume 2 by Baird, Henry Martyn