confidential

[ kon-fi-den-shuhl ]
/ ˌkɒn fɪˈdɛn ʃəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR confidential ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.)
  1. bearing the classification confidential, usually being above restricted and below secret.
  2. limited to persons authorized to use information, documents, etc., so classified.Compare classification(def 5).

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

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earnest
full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.
a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.
urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.
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Origin of confidential

1645–55; < Latin confīdenti(a) confidence + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM confidential

Words nearby confidential

confidence limits, confidence man, confidence trick, confident, confidente, confidential, confidential communication, confidentiality, confiding, configurate, configuration
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to confidentiality

confidence, familiarity, understanding, friendship, affection, mystery, isolation, solitude, reticence, silence, affinity, acquaintance, experience, communion, inwardness, seclusion, quiet, sequestration, aloofness, retirement

Example sentences from the Web for confidentiality

British Dictionary definitions for confidentiality

confidential
/ (ˌkɒnfɪˈdɛnʃəl) /

adjective

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

Derived forms of confidential

confidentiality or confidentialness, nounconfidentially, adverb
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

Medical definitions for confidentiality

confidentiality
[ kŏn′fĭ-dĕn′shē-ăl′ĭ-tē ]

n.

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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.