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.

   Synonyms: peculiar, particular, singular
   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

noun

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

   private first class

Other Word Forms

• privately adverb
• privateness noun
• quasi-private adjective
• quasi-privately adverb
• unprivate adjective
• unprivately adverb
• unprivateness noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of private¹

C14: from Latin prīvātus belonging to one individual, withdrawn from public life, from prīvāre to deprive, bereave

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in private, not publicly; secretly.

   The hearing will be conducted in private.

More idioms and phrases containing private

• free (private) enterprise
• in private

Example Sentences

Now, Milei needs to attract private investments to kick-start the economy after implementing deep public spending cuts by slashing subsidies and closing ministries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Then they take them home and put them in their private collections, or in museums.

Read more on Literature

Soon after his private investigation of New Century, Park had a phone call from a penniless, jobless old college friend who had been offered several loans from banks to buy a house he couldn’t afford.

Read more on Literature

“With private credit, you have a market where you don’t know how transactions are made or with what types of collateral,” Ahmed said in an interview.

Read more on MarketWatch

For children, friends lists are private, location sharing is off by default, and both users have to agree to chat.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• confidential 
• exclusive 
• independent 
• individual 
• secret 
• separate 
• special