confidential
Americanadjective
-
spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret.
a confidential remark.
- Synonyms:
- private, restricted
-
indicating confidence or intimacy; imparting private matters.
a confidential tone of voice.
-
having another's trust or confidence; entrusted with secrets or private affairs.
a confidential secretary.
- Synonyms:
- private, trustworthy
-
(of information, a document, etc.)
-
bearing the classification confidential, usually being above restricted and below secret.
-
limited to persons authorized to use information, documents, etc., so classified.
-
adjective
-
spoken, written, or given in confidence; secret; private
-
entrusted with another's confidence or secret affairs
a confidential secretary
-
suggestive of or denoting intimacy
a confidential approach
Synonym Usage
See familiar.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confidential
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin confīdenti(a) confidence + -al 1
Explanation
If you get a letter stamped confidential, that means you're not supposed to tell anyone else what it says. It's private and you're not supposed to blab about it. Confidential suggests that you're being let in on a secret — as in Kitchen Confidential, the title of a book by Anthony Bourdain, a famous chef, in which he tells unappetizing stories about the restaurant industry. If you confide in someone, you are trusting him or her with confidential or secret information. Choose your confidants wisely!
Vocabulary lists containing confidential
Nothing But the Truth
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Guts
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"The Censors," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
Confidential IPOs are basically a draft of the filing used by companies going public that outlines the business, risks, and recent performance.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
Food has the power to connect people because it’s a “very emotional thing,” says Ali Hooke, who was inspired to become a chef by Bourdain’s bestselling nonfiction book, “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Jeff Cohen is co-founder of RootsAction.org, a retired journalism professor at Ithaca College and author of “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.”
From Salon • Sep. 20, 2025
Confidential filings allow firms to keep information private while engaging with regulators and assessing investor appetite for a share sale before disclosing details publicly.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2025
As I have said, the instructions were marked Confidential, and the Irish Secretary may have relied on this magic word in formulating his denials.
From Ireland as It Is And as It Would be Under Home Rule by Buckley, Robert John
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.
