confidential

American  

[kon-fi-den-shuhl] / ˌkɒn fɪˈdɛn ʃəl /

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.

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confidential British  

/ 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

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Related Words

See familiar.

Other Word Forms

• confidentiality noun
• confidentially adverb
• confidentialness noun
• nonconfidential adjective
• nonconfidentiality noun
• nonconfidentially adverb
• nonconfidentialness noun
• quasi-confidential adjective
• quasi-confidentially adverb

Etymology

Origin of confidential

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

Example Sentences

She has deep experience handling confidential documents and working with whistleblowers.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The parties are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution of this dispute," the Social Media Victims Law Center said, noting that the terms of the settlement with TikTok are confidential.

From Barron's

“Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

From The Wall Street Journal

This will allow practitioners to "keep tabs on people" and offer them new tests and treatments as they are rolled out, he added, while stressing it would be "incredibly confidential and secure".

From BBC

Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley apologised for not communicating earlier as he stated discussions between Y11 and the WRU were "commercially confidential and could not be discussed".

From BBC

Related Words

• classified
• hush-hush
• intimate
• private