confidential
[kon-fi-den-shuh l]
- spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret: a confidential remark.
- 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.
- (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.Compare classification(def 5).
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Origin of confidential
Synonyms
See more synonyms for confidential on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for confidentiality
Contemporary Examples
Kids approaching adolescence get a brief discussion about confidentiality.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.Russell Saunders
November 14, 2014
The reason we have confidentiality is so that people are not forced to go home.
Donald Sterling apparently sought to ensure it stayed that way by including a confidentiality clause when he settled the suit.
Promised (and delivered) confidentiality and anonymity, arrestees had nothing to lose—and, therefore, tons to offer.
She also signed a confidentiality agreement, according to the Sun-Times.
Historical Examples
There is a second insurance-related issue that has to do with confidentiality.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
I have tried to give a realistic picture of confidentiality in therapy.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
There are two central questions relating to confidentiality that I want to raise here.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
Accidental or inadvertent breaks of confidentiality sometimes can also occur.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
There may or may not be special laws in your state to protect the confidentiality of psychotherapy.
When You Don't Know Where to TurnSteven J. Bartlett
confidential
- spoken, written, or given in confidence; secret; private
- entrusted with another's confidence or secret affairsa confidential secretary
- suggestive of or denoting intimacya confidential approach
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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
Word Origin and History for confidentiality
confidential
adj.
1759, from Latin confidentia (see confidence) + -al (1). Related: Confidentiality; confidentially.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
confidentiality
(kŏn′fĭ-dĕn′shē-ăl′ĭ-tē)- The ethical principle or legal right that a physician or other health professional will hold secret all information relating to a patient, unless the patient gives consent permitting disclosure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.