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Synonyms

in private

Idioms  

  1. Not in public; secretly, confidentially. For example, The hearings will be conducted in private, or May I speak to you in private? [Late 1500s] For an antonym, see in public.

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.

Ballou, who is working with the press freedom groups, previously served as a Justice Department special counsel with expertise in private equity transactions.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Two funds invested in private credit run by Blue Owl Capital are cutting dividends, and one of them sold half its stake in SpaceX earlier this year.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

But Sir Keir Starmer does so while pleading with his party, in public and in private, to cut out all the chat about his future and who might replace him.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

This excludes its recent acquisition of Marathon Asset Management, a New York-based firm specializing in private credit, which is on track to close in the third quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

I’m going to hold on to this feeling in private.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

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.