confidentiality
Americannoun
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the quality or fact of being confidential, private, or restricted to certain parties, usually by agreement or formal requirement.
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something confidential or private; confidence.
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a rule or expectation within a particular field of activity that the restriction of private information is to be respected.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
Confidentiality is what you observe when you keep things secret. If you happen to be a mafia boss with lots of dark secrets, you'll want to be sure you can count on complete confidentiality from your wife and family. Confidentiality is important not just to people involved in illegal activities. You expect your close friends and family to keep your secrets — you count on their confidentiality. Confidentiality might also apply to your job — if your company is working on a new computer game, confidentiality is essential to prevent leaks to your competitors. The word confidentiality includes the Latin root fides, which means "faith," or "trust."
Vocabulary lists containing confidentiality
Journalism
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United States v. Nixon (1974)
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 3
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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.
Guests are said to have signed confidentiality agreements and will be without their phones for the ceremony, expected to begin in the mid-afternoon with cocktails before a reception going into the night.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
He says those who do get in touch with them will have "complete confidentiality".
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
In a statement, Ghaffar’s team accused Paulson’s side of misleading the arbitrator, and violating the confidentiality of the arbitration forum by making the interim award public.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
The city has said that it took disciplinary action in response to the investigation but declined to provide details, citing confidentiality requirements involving personnel matters.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
“Here at the Lemoncello Library, we protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
